KUALA LUMPUR: Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) has lodged two reports today at the Commercial Crime Investigation Department here involving its former chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, former CEOs Tan Sri Ismee Ismail, Datuk Seri Johan Abdullah and senior management staff.
The senior staff are Datuk Adi Azuan (Chief Operating Officer), Datuk Rozaida Omar (Chief Financial Officer), Hazlina Mohd Khalid (Legal Adviser) and Rifina Md Ariff (Senior General Manager, Corporate Services and Real Estate).
The first report involves Yayasan Tabung Haji’s (YTH) 2017 Programme, where funds totalling over RM22.0 million had been disbursed for activities with political inclinations.
“This contravenes the Memorandum And Articles of Association of YTH. The trustees of YTH during that time were Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez, Tan Sri Ismee, Datuk Seri Johan, Datuk Adi and Datuk Rozaida,” TH said in a statement.
It said Yayasan Tabung Haji was set up in 2016 to undertake, among others, humanitarian aid and to contribute to underprivileged, the poor and the needy. TH had contributed RM7 million to the programme.
The second report against Ismee, Hazlinda and Rifina relates to misrepresentations and withholding of material information involving TH’s 2012 sale of 95 per cent shareholdings in PT TH Indo Plantations held by its two subsidiaries, namely TH Indopalms Sdn Bhd (THI) and TH Indo Industries Sdn Bhd (THII) to PT Borneo Pacific (PT Borneo) for US$910 million.
PT TH Indo Plantations own a total of 83,000 hectares of palm oil estates in Indonesia.
“The reports lodged today are the first following internal investigations into past transactions, spearheaded by the new management, since July 2018,” the statement added.
Azeez left TH in May, while Johan and deputy CEO Datuk Badlisyah Abdul Ghani stepped down after the expiry of their two-year contracts on June 30.
Johan joined TH in January 2015 as deputy managing director and CEO. Prior to that, he was the managing director and CEO of BIMB Holdings Bhd, a subsidiary of TH.
In July, TH appointed former Securities Commission executive chairman Tan Sri Mohammed Nor Md Yusof as its new chairman and former BIMB Holdings Bhd chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Seri Zukri Samat as its new CEO.