KUALA LUMPUR (Mar 18): A mini-scandal is  brewing in the Ministry of Finance over its little-known subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd with questions left unanswered over a RM3.81 billion investment listed in the company's financial statement in March last year, DAP said today.

Party publicity chief Tony Pua said the answer given in Parliament by the ministry last week revealed that SRC International had invested in Gobi Coal & Energy Ltd, a Mongolian-based energy company.

But the government's answers to Pua's further questioning in Parliament on Monday lacked details when queried about the specifics of the RM3.81 billion investment.

Pua said that the finance minister had only explained that "investments were in the coal and natural resources sector" and that "SRC International conducts its investments directly or via joint ventures with international investors".

"Despite the brevity, the government's official reply raises a major contradiction with the audited report.

"This is because Deloitte Malaysia has classified this amount as available for sale investment involving open-ended funds, quoted shares, bonds and time deposits," Pua said at a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.

He added that the international auditors did not describe any part of the RM3.81 billion investment as a long-term joint venture with any international investor.