By Nurunnasihah Ahmad Rashid
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 (Bernama) – The entire approval process for Lembaga Tabung Haji’s (TH) purchase of a 30 per cent stake in Putrajaya Perdana Bhd in 2014 took place when the company was said to be under the control of Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, through Utama Banking Group Bhd (UBG Bhd).
This was based on sworn testimony recorded in the SRC International case, said Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan in the Dewan Rakyat during the winding-up session of the special sitting to deliberate on the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on Lembaga Tabung Haji’s management and operations today.
“According to sworn testimony by Putrajaya Perdana director Datuk Rosman Abdullah, SRC International channelled RM170 million to Putrajaya Perdana’s subsidiary (Putra Perdana Construction) in three tranches between July and August 2014,” he said.
The special sitting was led by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan.
Amir Hamzah said the testimony stated that as long as the sale of the company by UBG had not been completed, which only occurred on April 13, 2015, Putrajaya Perdana remained under Jho Low’s control through UBG.
“If we look closely at the chronology of the dates, the Investment Panel approved it on July 24, 2014; the board on Aug 25; the minister’s approval on Aug 27; and the sale and purchase agreement was signed on Dec 3, 2014.
“Every approval process and the agreement fell within the period stated in the testimony,” he said in response to issues raised by several Members of Parliament, including those from Muar, Putrajaya and Port Dickson, regarding Putrajaya Perdana’s links to Jho Low.
However, Amir Hamzah stressed that the court had made no finding that Jho Low was the beneficial owner of Putrajaya Perdana at the time, and that the matter remained as sworn testimony on record.
He said that according to the fact-finding report from 2023, the TH Investment Panel requested on July 24, 2014, that the management identify the ultimate shareholder of the seller. However, the assessment did not include any record of a response from the management, and the transaction proceeded despite this lack of information.
“TH paid RM193.5 million to Cendana Destini Sdn Bhd in December 2014 to acquire a 30 per cent equity stake in Putrajaya Perdana, based on two promises, namely that the company would be relisted within a year and achieve a profit of RM86 million in 2015.
“Unfortunately, both promises were not fulfilled, and the RCI recorded that the then TH chairman also held the position of chairman of Putrajaya Perdana,” he said.
Cendana Destini is an investment vehicle owned by Putrajaya Perdana Bhd director Datuk Rosman Abdullah, who acquired a majority stake in the construction company from a business group linked to Jho Low in 2012.
According to Amir Hamzah, TH’s Research Division initially disagreed with the proposed valuation of RM206 million for the 30 per cent stake and estimated its value at between RM124 million and RM155 million.
However, RM193.5 million was eventually approved without written justification for the increase in valuation and the increase in the stake from 25 per cent to 30 per cent.
“Due diligence was only conducted after all approvals had been obtained and was not presented to the Investment Panel or board of directors before the agreement was signed.
“The limited 2023 fact-finding assessment also recorded a similar pattern in the process, with four investments not undergoing the required due diligence, while the recommendations of the Risk Management Department were not properly addressed,” he said.
Amir Hamzah also said that a fact that had never been disclosed to decision-makers was that the seller had acquired the entire equity stake in the company for RM260 million in 2012, or RM78 million for a 30 per cent stake. Two years later, TH paid a valuation of RM193.5 million, representing an increase of almost three times the 2012 value.
He said that after the two promises failed to materialise, TH exercised a put option worth RM210.7 million in March 2018 and demanded that the seller buy back the shares, but payment was not made.
As of financial year 2024, the RM193.5 million investment had been fully impaired.
Amir Hamzah said TH is now pursuing a claim in court, with a writ having been filed and a Mareva injunction obtained to freeze assets, while court-directed mediation was scheduled for today (Aug 11) and the trial for June 23, 2027.
Earlier, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (MUDA-Muar) raised Jho Low’s role in Putrajaya Perdana by referring to records from the SRC International case and questioning TH depositors’ funds invested in the company.
SRC International was a former subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and was alleged to have been secretly controlled by Jho Low through UBG.
-- BERNAMA