JOHOR BARU – Property developer Jiankun International Bhd has filed for judicial review against the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and its officers, including its chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, over the freezing of its accounts.
Jiankun International along with five of its subsidiaries – JKI Construction Sdn Bhd, JKI Development Sdn Bhd, JKI Resources Sdn Bhd, Nagamas Bizworks Sdn Bhd, and Nagamas Venture Sdn Bhd – were listed as applicants.
Azam, MACC investigations department senior director Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hashim, MACC anti-money laundering department director Datuk Mohamad Zamri Zainul Abidin, and MACC itself were named as respondents in the filing at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
According to the sworn affidavit by Jiankun International chief executive Edwin Silvester Das filed on April 3, the applicants attempted to perform bank transactions last month but were unable to do so.
After making enquiries to three banks – UOB, AmBank, and Maybank – over 12 company accounts, the applicants were informed that their funds were frozen by MACC.
“Almost all are active accounts used by the applicants for everyday business activities to make payments to suppliers, contractors, wages, and statutory payments.
“Additionally, there are housing development accounts where the funds in those accounts were to be used for the applicants’ housing development projects,” the affidavit said.
Further, Das mentioned that the order to freeze the accounts under Section 44(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 was done without basis and failed to follow procedure.
On March 23, lawyers representing the applicants wrote a letter to MACC requesting for the freezing order to be revoked – however, Jiankun International received no response.
“The applicants were not given a copy of the freezing order or any documents from the respondents.
“Thus, the applicants do not have any opportunity to defend themselves and they were not told of the allegations they are currently facing.
“I have been advised that the respondents’ actions have exposed the applicants to the risk of court action by third parties, whereby the applicants will be required to make a public announcement which could affect Jiankun International’s share prices,” the affidavit said.
Claiming that MACC’s actions were illegal and an abuse of power among other things, Jiankun International is seeking an order to terminate the freezing order.
The company is also requesting that MACC reveal the true reason behind the freezing order as well as a declaration that the actions by the authorities were illegal.
Alternatively, Jiankun International also requested for an order compelling MACC to unfreeze RM1.5 million for operational expenditure and management.
Meanwhile, Jiankun’s lawyers have informed The Vibes that the matter with MACC has been resolved and that the company will discontinue the judicial review.
According to Jiankun International’s 2021 Annual Report, former attorney-general Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali serves as its independent non-executive chairman and a member of its audit committee.
Meanwhile, former deputy finance minister Datuk Lim Siang Chai serves as Jiankun International’s deputy executive chairman.
Further, following The Edge’s report in December last year, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s son-in-law Datuk Saiful Nizam Mohd Yusoff was designated as Jiankun International’s president. – The Vibes, April 24, 2023
Editor’s note: The 12th paragraph of this story has been corrected for accuracy based on the affidavit, that the company is only at risk of court action by third parties and is not facing any court action. The company’s lawyers have also informed The Vibes that the matter with MACC has been resolved and the company will be discontinuing legal action.
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