MACC in the midst of completing probe into two hotel purchase by FIC

PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is in the midst of completing investigations into the purchase of two posh hotels in Kuching, Sarawak, and Kensington, London, by Felda Investment Corporation (FIC) before it could submit it to the Deputy Public Prosecutor, according to MACC deputy chief commissioner (Operations) Datuk Azam Baki.
"Give us time to complete the investigations into the purchase of the two hotels ... there is nothing to disclose right now, I cannot even disclose when the investigations will be fully completed. So, let's be patient and wait," he told reporters after witnessing the taking of the Corruption-Free Pledge by the Foreign Ministry's staff here today.
Azam said this when asked on the development of the case, which saw several individuals, including Felda chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad, being remanded to facilitate in the investigations.
Last month, the MACC opened an investigation paper on FIC's purchase of the hotel in Kensington in 2014, allegedly at a much higher than the market price and caused the Felda subsidiary to suffer millions of ringgit in losses.
After that, the MACC was reported to have initiated an investigation into another posh hotel in Kuching, also allegedly purchased by the FIC at a much higher than the market price, causing millions of ringgit in losses.
When asked on the possibility of anyone being prosecuted, Azam said: "There are too many possibilities."
In another development, he stressed that the MACC cannot and will not share any investigation or intelligence information about any case with the public.
"This information is not for the public," he said when asked to comment on a media report stating that Penang executive councillor Phee Boon Poh has RM2 million in his bank account.
Recently, media reported that the MACC had frozen four bank accounts belonging to Phee following the investigations into the alleged illegal factory operating in Sungai Lembu, Bukit Mertajam. — Bernama