KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 6): 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) is trying to cover up the discrepancy over the price of the 60% stake in Bandar Malaysia it sold to the Iskandar Waterfront Holdings (IWH)-China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) consortium, says Tony Pua.

He said 1MDB was using “clever language and incongruous financial gobbledygook” to divert the public from the fact that CREC announced that it paid RM5.279 billion for the shares, and not RM7.41 billion as previously reported.

Pua said 1MDB did this by issuing a statement claiming that the RM7.41 billion was for the 60% Bandar Malaysia “land sale valuation” – a point which he said was irrelevant.

“The valuation of the land held by Bandar Malaysia, whether it is RM12.35 billion or RM20 billion or only RM4.2 billion, is irrelevant, because 1MDB will only be paid RM5.279 billion for the 60% stake in Bandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

“Hence 1MDB is clearly attempting to deceive the public with a 60% ‘land sale valuation’ where 1MDB would collect RM7.41 billion, because it is simply not a land sale transaction” he said in a statement.

1MDB said on Dec 31 that the Bandar Malaysia deal with the consortium was priced at RM7.41 billion, and that it had paid a 10% down payment.

But CREC said it paid RM5.28 billion for the 60% joint venture with IWH in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) on Monday.

1MDB said yesterday that CREC’s announcement “refers not to the land sale valuation, but instead to their estimated share of the net equity value of the Bandar Malaysia project, based on certain assumptions, which are subject to further negotiations during the completion period between January and June 2016”.

It also said “adjustments may be made to the RM7.41 billion land sale valuation, depending on whether or not certain Bandar Malaysia related liabilities can be passed to the consortium”.

Pua said 1MDB’s attempt to close the gap between the two figures did not hold water as it would have had to disclose to HKex and its shareholders the difference between the price paid by the joint venture, RM5.28 billion, and a possible increase to RM7.41 billion.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP called on 1MDB to make public the share sales & purchase agreement between 1MDB and the IWH-CREC consortium.

“This is to ensure that Malaysians can understand the exact terms of the transaction, and not the fancy spruced-up versions which 1MDB wants Malaysians to believe.