KUALA LUMPUR: Seven individuals, including four former senior management members of Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH), were detained by graft busters in connection with the investigation into the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) of the pilgrimage fund.
Those detained were a company chief executive officer, company directors, a former company director and four former senior TH management officers.
The first suspect, a shipping company CEO in his 60s who holds a Datuk title, was detained for allegedly submitting documents containing false particulars when making payments to TH.
He is also suspected of falsifying a contract document involving a petroleum company for the benefit of his own company.
The second and third suspects, aged in their 60s and holding the titles Datuk and Datuk Seri respectively, were detained for allegedly misleading TH officers into making an investment in a construction company by promising that it had the potential to be listed on Bursa Malaysia.
The four former senior TH management officers, aged between their 50s and 60s, including a Datuk Seri and a woman, were detained for allegedly being involved in corrupt practices that led TH to enter into a lease agreement for four hotels in Saudi Arabia with a company for SR2.49bil.
The agreement is alleged to have resulted in losses to TH.
However, only two male suspects – the shipping company CEO and a director of the construction company who holds a Datuk title – were remanded.
The other five suspects were released on Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) bail due to health problems.
Magistrate Ahmad Afiq Hasan issued a five-day remand order until Aug 19 against the two suspects following an application by MACC at the Putrajaya Magistrate's Court on Saturday (Aug 15).
A source said all seven suspects were detained separately between 3pm and 10.30pm on Friday (Aug 14) at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya.
The remand followed investigations by a special team formed by MACC to examine the findings of the RCI into TH, which was made public through the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) official portal on July 29.
MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Abd Halim Aman, when contacted, confirmed the arrests.
He said the case was being investigated under Sections 18 and 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009.
