This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on June 30, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd’s (FGV) suspended president and chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Zakaria Arshad (pic) yesterday submitted his reply to a show-cause letter from the company concerning alleged improprieties at the group’s subsidiary Delima Oil Products Sdn Bhd.

According to FGV, Zakaria’s brother Maulud Arshad handed his reply to group company secretary Koo Shuang Yen at 11.30am, just 30 minutes before the noon deadline given to him.

“The reply relates to the show-cause letter to the long outstanding debt of Safitex Trading LLC with FGV’s subsidiary Delima Oil,” said a FGV spokesperson.

Zakaria’s reply came after the deadline for the submission — originally June 20, by 4.30pm — was postponed twice to yesterday after he appealed for an extension till July 30, which FGV initially refused before relenting.

In the meantime, suspended chief financial officer Ahmad Tifli Mohd Talha gave his reply on June 20 to a similar show-cause letter.

According to FGV, both directors will continue to be on a leave of absence until further notice.

Zakaria, Ahmad Tifli, FGV Trading Sdn Bhd CEO Ahmad Salman Omar, and Delima Oil Products senior general manager Kamarzaman Abd Karim were suspended and given a leave of absence from June 20 while awaiting the results of an inquiry concerning the extension of credit by Delima Oil to Safitex.

Following the inquiry, Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad resigned as FGV chairman and was appointed acting chairman for the Land Public Transport Commission. He also gave statements to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, which has started an investigation into FGV amid claims of corruption and abuse of power at the plantation giant.

On Mohd Isa’s exit, Telekom Malaysia Bhd chairman Tan Sri Sulaiman Mahbob was appointed FGV’s acting chairman.

FGV’s share price closed unchanged at RM1.71 yesterday, bringing a market capitalisation of RM6.23 billion.