Freed on bail
Amount reduced from RM1mil
MACC releases Isa on expiry of remand order.
PUTRAJAYA: After being in remand for five days, Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad was released on bail when the Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission (MACC) decided not to apply to extend his remand.
The former Felda Global Ventures (FGV) Holdings Bhd chairman had been in remand since Aug 16 in connection with the investigation into the purchase of a hotel in London by Felda Investment Corp (FIC).
MACC prosecutors asked that the 68-yearold Isa be released on a RM1mil bail, but his lawyers contended that such an amount was unnecessary as their client had been cooperative.
“The fact that the MACC did not apply for his remand to be extended showed the level of cooperation given by our client,” argued chief counsel Datuk K. Kumaraendran.
Counsel Datuk Khairul Anwar Rahmat pointed out that Isa was not a suspect in the case, but was just assisting the MACC in its investigation.
Registrar of Subordinate Courts Datuk Zainal Abidin Kamarudin set bail at RM150,000 with two sureties.
Isa was released at about 1pm yesterday after bail was posted.
Earlier, he arrived at the Putrajaya court complex at 9.50am and his wife Puan Sri Bibi Sharliza Mohd Khalid was the first to greet him.
Isa was arrested last week at the MACC headquarters, where he was called to have his statement recorded on the investigation of discrepancies in FIC’s purchase of Park City Hotel in Kensington, London.
The company was said to have bought the hotel for an inflated price of RM330mil, with the actual value estimated at RM110mil.
In Penang, Dev Kumaraendran, one of Isa’s lawyers, said Isa had fully cooperated with investigations and was ready to be called as a witness if there was any prosecution in the case.
Meanwhile, FGV acting chairman Tan Sri Dr Sulaiman Mahbob said its board of directors would make a decision on a report, which is expected to come from the domestic inquiry panel on four senior board members at the end of this month.
“Whether they (the four being investigated) are guilty or not, we will decide (after receiving the panel’s report).
“The board will think of the next course of action.
“This is an internal investigation, so the board has the absolute right,” Bernama quoted him as saying at a function to send off 76 haj pilgrims managed by Felda Travel at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
The four people being investigated are former FGV group president and chief executive officer Datuk Zakaria Arshad, former group chief financial officer Ahmad Tifli Mohd Talha and two senior management officers.