The Road and Transport Department officers on duty checking the lorries transporting the bauxite .
KUALA LUMPUR: Pasdec Holdings Bhd
group managing director Datuk Mohd Khairuddin Abdul Manan has been given temporary leave of absence starting Friday amid a probe into possible mining-related corruption.
The property developer, which is 51.6% owned by Pahang State Development Corp (PKNP), told Bursa Malaysia that Khairuddin volunteered to take leave during a board meeting held on Monday in order to facilitate the completion of the ongoing forensic review by Deloitte Corporate Solutions Sdn Bhd.
Deloitte is an accounting firm that the company appointed after learning from the newspapers and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation that mining activity has been carried out on a land belonging to a subsidiary, Pasdec Corp Sdn Bhd. According to Pasdec’s annual report, the unit is involved in property development and project management.
Pasdec said the board had also appointed law firm Bastian Vendargon to advise it on the legal implications of the findings of the forensic review and on legal avenues to protect the company’s interests.
The company will continue its business as usual during Khairuddin’s absence.
In the interim, Pasdec said, non-executive director Datuk Abdul Rahim Mohd Ali, who is also PKNP chief executive officer, would perform the functions of managing director “until otherwise resolved.”
Pasdec did not post any previous statement to Bursa Malaysia this year on the forensic review by Deloitte or the MACC investigation.
There were news reports earlier this year that the MACC remanded several people, including an unnamed managerial-level employee of Pasdec Holdings, to assist in investigations into alleged corruption involving bauxite mining in Pahang.
Pasdec shares closed unchanged at 32 sen on Thursday, with 66,000 shares traded.
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