Musa Aman’s lawyer claims the suit was a politically-motivated move designed to distract and mislead the public
Yayasan Sabah has filed a claim at the Kota Kinabalu High Court against former Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman to recover RM872 million which was allegedly “lost” in a dubious logging activity agreement.
Foundation director Datuk Jamalul Kiram Mohd Zakaria said the lawsuit was logged in the judiciary’s e-filing system on June 16.
“On behalf of the Yayasan Sabah Board of Trustees, we would like to reclaim RM872 million which was lost during a dubious logging activity agreement.
“We believe the money belongs to Yayasan Sabah,” he said in a statement.
The suit comes in the wake of the federal Attorney-General’s decision to drop all 46 charges of money laundering and corruption against Musa, involving a sum of RM400 million, allegedly committed during his term as Sabah chief minister.
Jamalul alleged that Musa had failed as the chairman of the board of trustees to fulfil his fiduciary responsibility to protect the interest of Sabah Foundation, which was formed to provide educational opportunities and facilities to Sabahans.
In the statement of claim, the foundation asserted that Musa, whose tenure as chairman coincided with his terms as the chief minister from March 27 2003 till May 2018, had engineered a scheme for personal gains by systematically selling off its concession areas to selected or nominated companies for between RM1,600 and RM2,000 per hectare.
The statement also said that further to the fraudulent scheme and in breach of his fiduciary duty, Musa had employed businessman Michael Chia to negotiate the business transactions for ill-gotten gains.
“In order to conceal these illegal activities from the plaintiff and authorities, all these ill-gotten monies procured under the fraudulent scheme was diverted from the purchasers to companies in tax free countries like the British Virgin Islands and then to Chia’s bank accounts in HSBC Bank and UBS bank in Singapore and Hong Kong.
“They were then later again diverted from Chia to a Richard Christopher Barnes who was Musa’s personal advisor then,” it said.
The claim said that Chia was reportedly paid US$42 million (RM179 million at current rates) and US$90 million on separate occasions and prior to his arrest in Hong Kong with RM16 million in cash.
The money was said to have been transferred to Umno Sabah to save himself from criminal prosecution.
“By reason of his numerous breaches of duty, the Foundation had suffered substantial loss and damages,” it said.
“We strongly believe the money belongs to Sabah Foundation,” Jamalul said, adding that the foundation set up in 1966 was also aimed to help Sabahans’ socio-economic and welfare development.
“Musa had failed to carry out his fiduciary duty to protect the interests of the foundation in his role as the chairman of the BOT,” he told reporters with the foundation’s lawyer Datuk Douglas Lind present.
Meanwhile, Musa’s lawyer, Tengku Fuad Ahmad said the suit was a politically-motivated move designed to distract and mislead the public.
“Tan Sri Musa Aman emphatically denies any wrongdoing during his tenure as chairman of Yayasan Sabah. Specifically, he denies that he has ever breached any of his fiduciary duties as Yayasan Sabah Chairman and that the allegations made against him today are scandalous and utterly false.
“It is also highly suspicious, irregular and improper to learn of Yayasan Sabah’s alleged suit through a press release and the media. Normally, when you commence a suit, the claim and cause-papers are served on the defendant or his lawyer. In this case, neither Tan Sri Musa nor I have been served with any papers whatsoever,” he said.
He said it was particularly unbecoming as both his office and Musa’s residence were both easily accessible.