FIFA Ethics Committee judge Sundra Rajoo held for graft

PETALING JAYA: Former director of Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) Prof Datuk Dr Sundra Rajoo (pic) was arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on suspicion of corruption but released hours later.

Prof Sundra, who resigned the director post yesterday morning following the arrest late Tuesday, had been detained after flying in from Zurich to assist in a corruption probe, reported AFP.

Prof Sundra, who is also a FIFA Ethics Committee judge, was held overnight but freed after a court accepted his representatives’ arguments that he effectively had diplomatic immunity due to his high-profile legal roles, lawyer Cheow Wee told the news wire service.

Cheow was also reported as saying that the MACC had applied to detain his client for seven days for questioning.

“My client has offered assurances that he will extend the full cooperation to MACC regarding the investigation,” Cheow was quoted as saying.

He also said that authorities could not arrest his client.

Meanwhile, Prof Sundra’s lawyer, Philip Koh, told The Malaysian Insight that his client had resigned as director to protect AIAC’s good name.

The alleged corrupt practices came to light after MACC received an anonymous letter that claimed that Prof Sundra had used government funds to obtain favours from past and present ministers to extend his contract.

It is learned that the letter was also addressed to other top government officials including Attorney General Tommy Thomas, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun, Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah and Malaysian Bar president George Varughese.

The portal also reported that MACC had applied for Prof Sundra to be remanded for seven days but it was rejected by the Putrajaya magistrate’s court owing to his position as a senior officer who was protected under the International Organisations ( Privileges and Immunities) Act 1992.

Meanwhile, Vinayak Pradhan was appointed the acting director of the AIAC following Prof Sundra’s departure.

In a statement yesterday, Thomas said he had known Vinayak for decades and could vouch for his integrity, and he would enhance the standing of the AIAC in the domestic and international arena.

He said Vinayak, who was called to the Malaysian Bar in 1974 after earning his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Singapore, is recognised worldwide for his experience in the arbitration field.