A lawyer has been remanded for seven days, starting yesterday, to assist with investigations into the Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority’s (Risda) land acquisition case in Tongod.
Magistrate Lovely Natasha Charles granted the remand application filed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Michael Persius Ubu, 63, was arrested by the MACC at 4.15pm yesterday, after arriving at its office in Kota Kinabalu at 1.30pm to give statement.
Ubu, who was on the authorities’ wanted list since 2017, was detained to assist in the investigation under Section 409 of the Penal Code for criminal breach of trust.
Earlier, Ubu, accompanied by his lawyer Zahir Shah and several MACC personnel, were seen arriving at the court complex at about 9.40 am.
Sporting the MACC orange lock-up garb, Ubu is among some 21 lawyers being sought by authorities.
He has been sought by the MACC with investigations into the RM150 million Risda land deal in Sabah’s central Tongod district which fell through due to issues of native land conversion.
It is understood that Ubu returned to Sabah earlier this month.
On Friday, family members of Ubu said, through a lawyer, that Ubu’s legal firm had paid back RM18 million over the land deal.
They claimed Risda agreed to the settlement, and that Risda did not face any losses with the interests paid.
The case involves the sale of two plots of land to Risda in 2014. The deal fell through even though a RM15 million down-payment had been paid by Risda through Ubu’s legal firm.
On Thursday (June 11), Sabah’s Infrastructure Minister Datuk Peter Anthony claimed trial to five money-laundering charges involving RM8.75 million.
Peter was arrested in 2017 in connection with the Risda investigations into criminal breach of trust.
MACC sources have not ruled out more charges from their Risda investigations.