MALAYSIAN Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) is investigating the purchase of another hotel by Felda Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd (FIC), this time in Kuching, Sarawak.

MACC said an investigation was opened after it discovered new information while investigating FIC’s purchase of a hotel in London.

MACC chief commissioner Dzulkifli Ahmad said the Kuching hotel was found to have been purchased for a sum above the market price.

He said initial investigations revealed that FIC’s acquisition of the Kuching hotel had resulted in losses amounting to hundreds of millions of ringgit for the company. 

“We will be calling in key witnesses to assist in the investigations. We will also be collecting evidence before taking any action.

“Six teams were sent to Sarawak and in Kuala Lumpur to gather information on the purchase of the hotel,” he said in a statement today. 

Dzulkifli said MACC officers confiscated documents believed to contain information on the purchase of the hotel. 

“We will study the documents to check for elements of bribery or misuse of power.”

MACC is also investigating FIC’s purchase of another hotel, which is in London and believed to be the Grand Plaza Kensington Hotel, which was bought by FIC in December 2014 for £60 million (RM330 million).

The Grand Plaza Kensington is a four-star hotel with 62 guest rooms, located at Lexham Gardens within the exclusive district of Kensington and Chelsea.

The acquisition is FIC’s first London property and Felda’s second.

MACC has also detained two people to assist in investigations into the purchase of the London hotel. – July 28, 2017.