Henry Butcher: Kuching office not raided by MACC

PETALING JAYA: The ongoing investigations into “overpriced” hotel purchases by Felda Investment Corp Sdn Bhd (FIC) have not resulted in a raid on Henry Butcher’s Kuching office, a statement from the property consultancy said.

Neither were its officers remanded by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Henry Butcher Malaysia Sdn Bhd director Long Tian Chek said in a statement.

The statement was issued to “bring clarity regarding the role of the company” and in response to recent media reports that Henry Butcher’s Sarawak office was raided by the MACC in connection with the purchase of the hotel asset in Kuching by FIC in 2014.

Long said: “We wish to inform the public and our clients that the MACC had contacted us and requested our assistance as professional valuers in the current ongoing investigation of the purchase of the hotel asset.

“Our assistance in this investigation is strictly to provide details as to our work as professional valuers for the property.”

Long said details with regard to the work done and its assistance could not be divulged because of the ongoing investigation.

According to previous press reports, the Kuching property was believed to have been bought at between RM40mil and RM50mil above its actual value. The hotel, with more than 200 rooms and apartment suites, was bought for

RM160mil in 2014.

The MACC unearthed information about the Kuching hotel while it was sifting through seized documents during its probe into FIC’s purchase of a Kensington hotel. That London property, comprising 62 guest rooms and two units of three-bedroom serviced apartments, was also alleged to be overpaid by at least £20mil (RM110mil).

FIC bought the four-star Park City Hotel and renamed it Grand Plaza Kensington Hotel for £60mil (RM330mil) in 2014. In December 2014, former Felda chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad launched the hotel.