PKR says NFCorp boss and son illegally profiting from rental yields
UPDATED @ 03:05:51 PM 24-04-2012
KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 — PKR today accused ex-minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s husband and son of illegally profiting from lucrative rental yields on properties wrongfully purchased using National Feedlot Centre (NFC) funds.
According to PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli, Datuk Seri Mohammad Salleh Ismail and his son Wan Shahinur Izran have been leveraging off NFC funds to obtain bank loans to purchase properties for NFC’s operations.
The properties, he alleged, are subsequently rented out at high monthly rates to the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp), which operates the NFC. Mohammad Salleh and Wan Shahinur Izran are also directors in the firm.
Rafizi (picture) said that according to NFCorp’s financial statements, the father-and-son team has been reaping over 72 per cent in profits by charging exorbitant rentals to the company, in which the former is the chief executive.
This, added the PKR leader, was tantamount to criminal breach of trust and both men should be dragged to court.
“This is clearly CBT. They are buying properties with NFC funds... probably obtaining loans by showing the bank that NFCorp will be paying for the rentals, which would be enough for them to service the loan.
“But on top of that, they are also earning profits from this, by charging high rentals.
“This shows that both should be charged with CBT, not just Mohammad Salleh... why only drag him in?” he told a press conference today.
Thus far, only Mohammad Salleh has been charged with CBT in the ongoing scandal that has opened Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Barisan Nasional (BN) government to damaging attacks ahead of elections expected soon.
“Although I do not have detailed financial accounts from the Real Food Company (RFC) and the family’s other associate companies, I believe that Wan Shahinur Izran is earning lucrative rental yields from the other two restaurants that he owns,” Rafizi said.
He distributed documents from Valuation and Estate Management Department (JPPH) to the media today showing three properties — two office lots and one restaurant (Meatworks), all in Solaris Mont Kiara here — listed in the names of either Mohammad Salleh and Wan Shahinur Izran, which he alleged were purchased using NFC funds.
According to Rafizi, the properties could be matched with those listed on NFC’s financial records, which show that two payments for rental are made monthly to the duo — RM28,000 to Wan Shahinur Izran and RM8,240 to Mohammad Salleh.
“The RM8,240 monthly rental collected by Mohammad Salleh for an office lot worth RM814,550 is too high.
“If this lot was purchased with a 25-year loan at current interest rates, the estimated monthly rental should be around RM4,800.
“This means that Mohammad Salleh is profiting about 72 per cent each month from rental yield... in such matters, even 15 per cent would be considered high,” Rafizi said.
He added that if this was the case with Mohammad Salleh’s office lot, the same rental yield rate should apply for rental paid for Wan Shahinur Izran’s properties.
According to JPPH’s information, Wan Shahinur Izran owns the other two lots worth RM14.1 million collectively — one is worth RM8.4 million and the other worth RM5.7 million — both of which, claimed Rafizi, are being rented out to RFC, another company owned by the family.
“I estimate that he would be reaping in monthly rentals from these two units of up to RM150,000, if we follow the same profit rate earned from Mohammad Salleh’s properties,” the PKR leader alleged, but noted that he does not have documents to prove this.
Rafizi said PKR will soon lodge a police report on today’s latest expose and urged the police to investigate both Mohammad Salleh and Wan Shahinur Izran.
He said this would not be the last of PKR’s series of exposes into the NFC, adding that the party plans to step up its focus on the scandal.
He urged Najib to open a probe into Shahrizat’s work during her tenure as the women, family and community development minister.
“Shahrizat has said that she is not involved in the NFC scandal but we have information... if she says she has no link, then PM Najib should investigate if there were any abuses during her time in the ministry,” Rafizi said.
Shahrizat ended her term as minister earlier this month and was subsequently replaced by Najib.
