MARA paid A$41.8 million (RM138 million) for a US$2 shell company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) because it purportedly owned a Melbourne building, MalaysiaKini reports, citing documents it obtained.

The report said Scarlett Nominees Ltd sold BVI company Thrushcross Land Holdings Ltd to Mara Inc. Thrushcross Land claims to own the property UniLodge at 746, Swanston Street, Melbourne.

The deal allegedly defrauded millions from the agency that was formed to help poor Malays, and was  executed through a maze of transaction by people, including former Mara officials, with vested interests.

The documents reveal that the agreement was signed on August 28, 2012. A week later, Mara Inc paid 10% of the purchase  price, and transferred the full sum of A$41.8 million to Scarlett Nominees by November that year.

On January 13 the following year, Thrushcross Land paid actual UniLodge owner HRSV Pty Ltd A$23.5 million for the 12-storey building, five months after Mara bought the BVI firm for purportedly owning the Melbourne property.

A$41.8 million was the valuation of UniLodge made by a Malaysia-based chartered surveyor and valuer, and included an annexure to the Thrushcross sale and purchase agreement between Scarlett and Mara Inc.

Though Thrushcross Land belonged to Mara at the time of the actual UniLodge purchase, the transfer of land agreement with HRSV was signed by two Malaysians who were not affiliated with Mara Inc, and who gave the same residential address in Melbourne. 

Both were appointed as Thrushcross Land directors on December 11, 2012 and quit their directorships on February 20 the following year.

On July 19, 2013, top officials of Mara Inc mortgaged the property to raise money to buy another building in Melbourne – Dudley House. That transaction is also being investigated for fraud, corruption and money laundering.

Australia’s Fairfax Media reported that the cost of the Melbourne student accommodation building was inflated by A$4.75 million to “pay for kickbacks” in the deal.

The scandal came to light in 2015 after Melbourne glazier John Bond sought help from the courts after having been driven to bankruptcy when officials involved in the deal refused to pay for Dudley House renovation work.

In the wake of the scandal, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) launched an investigation and detained several people, who were later released without charge, while the Australian Federal Police also conducted its own investigation. – November 29, 2017.