Latest news with #landdeal
Malay Mail
6 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Ramasamy quits legal battle with Penang CM over Batu Kawan land sale
GEORGE TOWN, July 18 — Former Penang deputy chief minister II Dr P. Ramasamy today withdrew his defamation suit against Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow over the controversial land sale issue in Batu Kawan. The consent judgment was recorded by Sessions Court Judge Helmi Ghani here after lawyer Dr Shamsher Thind Singh, representing Ramasamy, informed the court that his client agreed to withdraw the suit without the liberty to re-file it. Ramasamy initiated defamation proceedings against Chow on July 18 last year, over a statement published on Chow's official Facebook page on Oct 3, 2023, which Ramasamy alleged gravely damaged his reputation. The suit stemmed from a cancelled deal between Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and Umech Land Sdn Bhd over the sale of 226 hectares of land in Byram, Batu Kawan, which has now been cancelled. Chow was represented by lawyer A. Ruebankumar. In the same court, the PDC also withdrew its defamation suit over the same matter against Ramasamy without liberty to re-file and without an order as to costs. Ramasamy also agreed to withdraw statements he made about the PDC as part of the settlement. The Batu Kawan land deal became controversial due to allegations that it was sold below market value. — Bernama
Free Malaysia Today
6 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Ramasamy drops defamation suit against Chow over land sale
P Ramasamy initiated defamation proceedings against Chow Kon Yeow on July 18 last year over a Facebook post which he claimed seriously harmed his reputation. GEORGE TOWN : Former Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy has withdrawn his defamation Former Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy has withdrawn his defamation suit against chief minister Chow Kon Yeow over the disputed Batu Kawan land deal. In a consent judgment recorded before sessions judge Helmi Ghani, Ramasamy agreed to accept Chow's explanation that he had chaired two key Penang Development Corporation (PDC) meetings: a sub-committee meeting on Nov 28, 2022, and a board meeting on Feb 9, 2023. Both meetings dealt with the sale of 226ha of land in Byram, Batu Kawan, to Umech Land Sdn Bhd. Ramasamy agreed to drop the lawsuit without liberty to file afresh. Shamsher Singh Thind represented Ramasamy, while Ruebankumar Asokan appeared for Chow. Separately, PDC also withdrew its defamation suit against Ramasamy. As part of the settlement, he agreed to retract statements made about the agency and to end both suits permanently, with no order as to costs. Ramasamy initiated defamation proceedings against Chow on July 18 last year over a statement published on the latter's official Facebook page on Oct 3, 2023, which allegedly accused Ramasamy of being involved in approving the land deal and damaged his reputation. The Batu Kawan land deal involving a 226ha plot, initially sold through a directly negotiated tender, became the subject of controversy due to claims that it was sold below the market value. PDC initially sold the land to Umech Land for RM646 million. Following the controversy and a change in Umech Land's majority ownership, PDC cancelled the joint venture agreement and opened the sale of the land through an open tender.
Zawya
30-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Saudi: Umm Al Qura sells land plot in Masar project for $68.26mln
Riyadh - Umm Al Qura for Development and Construction, the owner, developer and operator of Masar Destination, has signed a land sale deal worth SAR 255.76 million. The transaction covers a 2,500 square meter plot within the Masar project in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, with a book value of SAR 128.07 million, according to a bourse disclosure. Umm Al Qura finalized the deal with the Home Investment Fund, a real estate investment fund managed by Jadwa Investment, on 26 June 2025. The transaction is expected to enhance Umm Al Qura's liquidity and positively impact its financial results. As of the end of March 2025, the Tadaul-listed company reported net profits worth SAR 159.66 million, marking an annual surge of 3,219% from SAR 4.81 million.
Japan Times
12-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
More Moritomo Gakuen documents disclosed to widow of MOF official
The Finance Ministry disclosed Wednesday another set of documents related to the dubious sale of state-owned land to Moritomo Gakuen to the widow of MOF official Toshio Akagi, who killed himself after being ordered to tamper with official records on the sale. The newly disclosed 8,800-page documents, kept by the ministry's Kinki Local Finance Bureau, where Akagi was working, contain his handwritten notes as well as emails and other internal records associated with his job. They are the second set of Moritomo documents voluntarily submitted to prosecutors and disclosed to the widow, Masako Akagi, by the ministry after a bundle of some 2,200 pages made available to her in April. In response to an Osaka High Court ruling revoking the ministry's decision not to release the documents, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato in March promised their full disclosure. The papers that were handed to the widow in April unveiled the process of the land plot in question being sold to the Osaka-based private school operator at a substantial discount as the construction site for an elementary school. The ministry started tampering with the Moritomo documents after then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a parliamentary meeting in 2017 that he would quit not only as prime minister but as a lawmaker if he or his wife, Akie, or both were found to have been involved in the land deal. Akie was named honorary principal of the planned elementary school. The ministry intends to gradually disclose all the documents, which total more than 170,000 pages. In a related development, the ministry disclosed in June 2021 the so-called "Akagi file," which was compiled by the deceased official to show how he was forced to tamper with the documents. However, the partially blackened-out file failed to reveal details of the ministry's misconduct.
Arab News
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Nepal ex-PM faces graft charge over land deal with Indian yoga guru's firm
KATMANDU: Authorities in Nepal have charged former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal with corruption and demanded a million-dollar fine over the purchase of land by a firm owned by Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev, a court official said on Friday. Nepal, prime minister between 2009 and 2011, faces charges of allowing Patanjali Yogpeeth Nepal's company to purchase more land than it was legally allowed to own for herb production, processing and a hospital in the Himalayan nation 15 years ago. Both Nepal and Patanjali Yogpeeth deny any wrongdoing. The 72-year-old Nepal heads a small opposition group in parliament and his United Socialist Party says the prosecution is an act of 'political vendetta' against him. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), a corruption watchdog, alleged that some of the land, in Kavre district, was later allowed to be swapped with other land, or sold at a higher price, causing a loss to the state. 'I have not done anything illegal nor indulged in any corruption concerning Patanjali land deal causing any loss to the state,' Nepal told the Kantipur daily newspaper. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority a corruption watchdog, alleged that some of the land, in Kavre district, was later allowed to be swapped with other land, or sold at a higher price, causing a loss to the state. The allegations were set out in a charge sheet filed by the commission on Thursday at the Special Court in Katmandu. The commission demanded Nepal be ordered to pay a fine of 185.85 million Nepali rupees ($1.35 million). If found guilty he could also be sentenced to up to 17 years in jail. A spokesperson for Patanjali in India denied any wrongdoing, saying it bought the land privately through due legal process. 'Patanjali has not acquired any government land. It is unfair to drag our name in local political vendetta actions and proceedings,' S K Tijarawala, Patanjali's spokesperson, told Reuters in a text message. The commission also charged 92 others, including some former ministers and officials, some of whom are already dead. Yaga Raj Regmi, information officer of the court, said Nepal would receive a formal court notice giving him 15 days in which to present himself at court and the hearing would start after that.
