This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on October 21, 2015.

KUALA LUMPUR: Majlis Amanah Rakyat’s (Mara) investment arm Mara Inc had paid A$64.4 million (RM201 million) in 2012 to acquire the entire interest in Thrushcross Land Holdings Ltd, which owns two properties in Melbourne, Australia, said Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Mohd Arif Ab Rahman.

“The acquisition of Thrushcross was made to obtain the ownership of Dudley International House and 746 Swanston Street (in Melbourne),” Mohd Arid said in a written reply to Parliamentary questions from Seputeh member of parliament (MP) Teresa Kok yesterday.

Kok had asked the minister to state the amount paid by Mara Inc to acquire the stake in Thruschcross, which was incorporated in British Virgin Islands, as well as to name the lawyer, accountant and valuer appointed by Mara and Mara Inc in Australia and Malaysia to handle the acquisition.

To this, Mohd Arif said Tetuan Abdul Malik & Lawrence Tan and Deloitte & Touche Financial Advisory Services Pte Ltd were appointed to assist with the filing and accounting processes respectively.

Raine & Horne International Zaki & Partners Sdn Bhd was appointed as valuer of the acquisition, he also said.

“The acquisition was done in accordance with the procurement regulations of the government,” Mohd Arif added.

In June, Australian newspaper The Age had reported that a high ranking Mara official, a senior official of a government-linked company, and a former politician had spent millions of government funds to buy an apartment block in Melbourne and had received kickbacks involving the purchase. 

Dudley International House was bought by Mara Inc for RM63.5 million although it was valued at RM51 million at the time of purchase. The difference, it said, was pocketed as kickbacks for senior Mara officials.

Following the report, Mara chairman Tan Sri Annuar Musa in an interview had said the purchase was approved by the National Economic Council chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

PKR MP Rafizi Ramli, who has been following the issue closely, said yesterday that he would be disclosing some court documents on the deal today.