By Khairie Hisyam
Eka Tjandranegara
Indonesian developer Mulia Group’s recent land deal with 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) was entirely driven by its president-director, the group told KINIBIZ in response to its ties to an International Police (Interpol) fugitive.
In a brief emailed statement late yesterday evening, the developer said the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to buy a land parcel in 1MDB’s Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) project for RM665 million was driven by Eka Tjandranegara, the group’s president-director and owner.
“The recent SPA between 1MDB Real Estate Sdn Bhd (1MDB RE), the master developer of TRX, and the Mulia Group was led by its president-director and owner, Eka Tjandranegara,” said the group.
“The entire transaction was driven by Eka Tjandranegara together with the executives of Mulia Group, and who has committed to personally seeing this project through drawing on the vast experiences of the Mulia Group,” it added.
Djoko Tjandra
On May 19, KINIBIZ reported ties between Mulia Group and Djoko Tjandra, a fugitive listed on Interpol’s website, who was previously cited as owner of Mulia Group. Djoko is brother to Eka Tjandranegara and was convicted of corruption charges in 2009, though he fled Indonesia a day before his sentencing.
A further email from Mulia Group later today clarified that Djoko no longer holds any directorship or shareholding within the group. “As Mr Tjandra has no longer been with our Mulia Group, we are unaware of his personal activities.”
On May 13, 1MDB announced it is bringing in Mulia Group to develop the Signature Tower in TRX, having signed the SPA with the group worth RM665 million.
The land parcel in question was previously linked to pilgrimage fund Tabung Haji as a potential buyer. This followed documents leaked in early May, detailing Tabung Haji’s proposed purchase of two land parcels with a combined price of RM772 million.
Azmar Talib
Despite initial denials, Tabung Haji later confirmed the purchase of one land parcel for RM188 million but did not proceed with the second land parcel, which would house the Signature Tower. The proposed purchase price was RM578 million or RM3,900 per square foot (psf), slightly lower than the Mulia Group deal.
“We are pleased to have the Mulia Group on board towards realising the potential of TRX. This significant investment underscores foreign investor confidence in Malaysia,” said Azmar Talib, chief executive officer of TRX master developer, 1MDB RE, in a statement last week.
1MDB told KINIBIZ questions relating to Djoko should be addressed to the Mulia group, and did not offer further comment.
KINIBIZ examined the controversy over 1MDB’s rushed land sale to Tabung Haji in a two-part series here.
Wanted man
Djoko had been pursued by Indonesian authorities since 2009 after being convicted for his role in the 1999 Bank of Bali financial scandal, though efforts to extradite him had been unfruitful, according to reports.
The scandal centred on some 546 billion rupiah (RM149 million) in commissions paid to a company called PT Era Giat Prima for its services in helping the Bank of Bali recover 904 billion rupiah (RM246 million) in interbank claims from defunct banks.
However, the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (Ibra), which controlled the now-defunct Bank of Bali, admitted that no third-party services were required in recovering those claims since they were insured by a government blanket guarantee programme, according to reports.
Djoko was a director of that company at the time. The company itself was reportedly controlled by the then-deputy treasurer of Indonesia’s Party of the Functional Groups, more commonly known as the Golkar party, raising questions of whether the funds were used to finance political activities.
He was later tried and convicted in 2009, though he reportedly fled to Papua New Guinea a day before the verdict on his case was issued. Djoko later gained citizenship of that state, complicating Indonesian efforts to extradite him as no extradition treaty is in place between the two nations.
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