Third ‘Tan Sri' nabbed in RM3.5bil MBI scam probe
KUALA LUMPUR: Another 'Tan Sri' has been nabbed over his alleged involvement in the Mobility Beyond Imagination (MBI) investment scam.
This brings the total of those detained in the ongoing investigation to 14 people.
Sources said the 53-year-old man was detained in Penang at about 2am yesterday after he returned from overseas.
'He arrived from overseas via Kuala Lumpur International Airport and made his way to Penang.
'He is believed to be either the syndicate's proxy or a business partner of the suspects,' sources said.
The police are also investigating the possibility of the suspect's involvement in money laundering for the syndicate.
'He is believed to have received profits from the investment scam for money laundering purposes,' sources said.
Meanwhile, IGP secretariat's Anti-Money Laundering (Amla) division head Comm Datuk Muhammad Hasbullah Ali confirmed the arrest under Ops Northern Star.
'However, we have not seized any belongings so far.
'We are still investigating the case,' he said.
The Star previously reported that two prominent businessmen with Tan Sri titles and a Datuk Seri were already in custody.
The arrests of the earlier 13 suspects were made between March 21 and April 21, which has now seen RM3.5bil in assets including a hotel and durian plantations linked to the MBI investment scheme previously seized.
Among the assets seized this round were durian plantations in Pahang, Penang and Kedah worth RM223,624,167.75.
An additional 299 bank accounts with RM123,614,594.35 were also frozen, he said.
All these assets were believed to have been purchased or had links to the proceeds from the scheme's illegal gains.
Investigations showed that one of the Tan Sri, a businessman, had been acting as both partner to the investment scam and a proxy to the victims.
As of now, no other 'influential figures' such as politicians are on the police radar and others who were being pursued are businessmen, said Comm Muhammad Hasbullah.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
5 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Professionals, firms used to hide money trail in highway project, says MACC
MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said the corporate figure with a 'Tan Sri' title involved has yet to be questioned as he is still warded at a private hospital. PETALING JAYA : The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) revealed that the misappropriation of sukuk funds for a Klang Valley highway project involved professionals and multiple companies to obscure the flow of funds. MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said the professionals involved included auditors, financial experts, as well as engineers, Utusan Malaysia reported. He also said the corporate figure with a 'Tan Sri' title involved has yet to be questioned as he is still warded at a private hospital. 'Today, investigators obtained a medical assessment from the attending doctor to verify the Tan Sri's condition before we can proceed to record his statement. 'In the meantime, 45 individuals who previously gave statements have been called back to provide further information,' he said. Azam added that the investigation team is also tracking down luxury vehicles and properties belonging to the Tan Sri in London and Switzerland. He said investigations now focus on the actual value of luxury alcoholic beverages in the Tan Sri's possession, amid suspicions that some of the misappropriated funds may have been transferred to other accounts. 'At the same time, a notice for asset declaration has been issued to the Tan Sri and other relevant parties,' he added. To date, the seized assets include 14 individual bank accounts totalling RM4.5 million, eight company accounts totalling RM33 million, a luxury condominium and a plot of land valued at RM24.5 million, as well as nine vehicles worth RM7.65 million. Azam said 13 more vehicles have yet to be handed over to investigators. Also seized were luxury watches worth around RM25 million, designer handbags valued at RM3 million, jewellery and diamonds worth RM6 million, and four horses valued at RM400,000. 'RM3 million worth of alcoholic beverages, overseas assets valued at over RM15 million, and gambling activities estimated at around RM20 million are also under investigation. 'Investigations are also focussing on RM12 million in bribes allegedly paid to certain parties to facilitate the movement of funds out and back into the suspect's possession,' he said. Previously, Azam said that the anti-graft agency was investigating three cases of alleged bribery and false claims connected to the Maju Expressway Extension (MEX II). He said the first investigation paper involves false claims amounting to RM361 million which came from sukuk funds, while the second case concerns false disclosures involving RM416 million in sukuk funds and RM50 million in bank loans. The third case involves certain parties who allegedly solicited and received around RM12 million in bribes.
The Star
7 hours ago
- The Star
Populist Wilders breaks Dutch coalition to push immigration agenda in elections
FILE PHOTO: Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders speaks to media in The Hague, Netherlands after polls closed in an EU election on June 6, 2024. REUTERS/Lewis Macdonald/File Photo AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders toppled the ruling coalition on Tuesday, gambling that a snap election focused on immigration will bring victory at the polls and secure his decades-old ambition of holding the highest political office. "We had agreed that the Netherlands would become the strictest (on immigration) in Europe, but we're trailing somewhere near the bottom," he told journalists, speaking after his Freedom Party (PVV) ditched Prime Minister Dick Schoof's coalition, just weeks before a major NATO summit in The Hague. "I intend to become the next prime minister. I am going to make the PVV bigger than ever." Some analysts said that despite a European shift to the right as seen in Poland with the election on Sunday of a conservative nationalist as president, his plan could still backfire. Polls indicate declining popularity for the PVV since it joined the government. Even if it remains the largest party, fashioning a coalition will be difficult in a deeply polarised nation. Opposition parties rule out working with Wilders and his sudden move on Tuesday angered and baffled political partners. Wilders, the longest serving Dutch lawmaker, gradually climbed to power after entering parliament in 1998, running on an anti-Islam platform that called for zero immigration and expelling asylum seekers. He tapped concerns of voters disillusioned with established politics and concerns about housing costs and healthcare that he has associated with immigration. His euroseceptic Freedom Party joined a power-sharing, right-wing coalition in 2024 after a record win in general elections, but Wilders said the government failed to make good on promises to clamp down on immigration. Immigration has slowed significantly since a peak in 2022. The Netherlands received almost two first-time asylum applications per 1,000 inhabitants in 2024, slightly below the European Union average, according to Eurostat data. Ten EU countries had a higher relative number of asylum seekers last year, including neighbouring Germany and Belgium. Junior coalition government members, including the conservative VVD party of ex-prime minister Mark Rutte, were reluctant to embrace some of Wilders' harshest ideas, including closing the borders to asylum seekers, returning Syrian refugees and closing asylum shelters. Those proposals also flew in the face of European Union obligations and a Dutch humanitarian tradition since World War Two of taking in people fleeing conflict. Focusing attention on immigration is a critical electoral strategy for the PVV, said SimonOtjes, assistant professor for Dutch politics at Leiden University. "Wilders is trying to return the focus back to immigration in the hopes that that will be the main theme in the coming elections," Otjes said. "A lot can happen in the next six months and it will be very unpredictable." Political ambition has not been enough to secure Wilders the top job, even after winning multiple elections. He had to give up his claim to the top job last year to strike a coalition deal with three other conservative parties. Wilders' anti-Islam rhetoric has prompted death threats and travel bans to Muslim nations that trade with the Netherlands. His 17-minute film "Fitna" enraged the Muslim world in 2008 for linking Koranic verses with footage of terrorist attacks. He was convicted of discrimination after he insulted Moroccans at a campaign rally in 2014. Wilders also called the prophet Mohammad a "paedophile", Islam a "fascist ideology" and "backward religion", and suggested banning of mosques, headscarves and the Koran. The central question now will be whether Wilders can turn a future election into a referendum on immigration policy that effectively undercuts his opponents, said Joepvan Lit, political researcher atRadboud University in Nijmegen. "But it's hard to tell how voters will react." (Reporting by Anthony Deutsch, Stephanie van den Berg and Bart Meijer; writing by Anthony Deutsch; editing by Mark Heinrich)
New Straits Times
8 hours ago
- New Straits Times
MACC details RM143m assets seized in relation to sukuk fund misuse
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has detailed the assets seized during its investigation into the misappropriation of sukuk funds linked to a highway construction project in the Klang Valley involving a prominent individual holding the title Tan Sri. The funds were believed to have been misused by a highway concessionaire holder bearing the title 'Tan Sri', following operations carried out since last week. MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the seizures included RM4.5 million from 14 individual accounts and RM33 million from eight company accounts, as well as a luxury condominium and a plot of land worth RM24.5 million. "The commission also seized nine vehicles worth RM7.65 million, although 13 more have yet to be handed over to the investigating team. "The seizures also comprised luxury watches worth approximately RM25 million, handbags worth RM3 million, jewellery and diamonds valued at RM6 million, four horses worth RM400,000, alcoholic beverages worth RM3 million, foreign assets estimated to exceed RM15 million, and gambling activities believed to involve around RM20 million," he said. Azam said preliminary investigations revealed that the misappropriation occurred between 2016 and 2020, involving RM1.35 billion in sukuk funds. "False claims totalling around RM360 million and RM416 million were made, in addition to another RM50 million from other bank loan facilities. "The RM1.67 billion highway project also failed to be completed within the stipulated period. Investigations are now focusing on alleged bribery involving RM12 million paid to certain parties in exchange for assisting with fund outflows, which were later returned to the suspect," he said. Azam said the misappropriated funds are believed to have been laundered. He also said that professionals such as auditors, financial experts, engineers, and several companies were allegedly engaged in the scheme to layer and conceal the illicit flow of funds. "As of now, the MACC has not yet recorded a statement from the Tan Sri, as he is currently warded at a private hospital. Today, investigators will obtain confirmation from doctors regarding his health status before proceeding with the statement recording. "In the meantime, the total number of witness statements remains at 45, with several witnesses who had previously given their statements recalled for further questioning," he said. Azam also said the investigation team is tracking down the Tan Sri's luxury vehicles and properties located both locally and abroad, including in London and Switzerland. He added investigators are now focusing on determining the actual value of luxury alcoholic beverages in the Tan Sri's possession, amid suspicions that funds may have been transferred to other accounts. At the same time, a notice for declaration of assets has also been issued to the Tan Sri and related parties.
