National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) chairman Mohamad Salleh Ismail today questioned the suit filed by the Attorney-General’s Chambers to recover an RM253 million loan given to the company, saying it had offered to repay it in full seven months’ ago.
However, Salleh, the husband of former Wanita Umno chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, said he would cooperate with the government to ensure the issue was resolved in the best way.
“I am confident that, under the leadership of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, this issue will achieve a resolution where NFCorp will repay the outstanding amount of the loan to the government, and the aspirations of the project that is full of potential can be fulfilled,” he added in a statement.
Salleh claimed that NFCorp had initiated efforts to revive the country’s development and restructuring process, noting that several discussions have been held with Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry and that such efforts were allegedly positively received.
He said a letter offering the outstanding loan’s full repayment had also been sent to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng on May 17 but claimed NFCorp has yet to receive any reply to date.
Earlier, it was reported that the AGC filed the suit last week to reclaim the loan given to NFCorp, which was first implicated in the 2010 Auditor-General’s Report where the involvement of Sharizat’s family in the scandal was exposed.
The report said the suit named NFCorp, Salleh, the couple’s three children and six of the family’s firms as respondents.
The children are Wan Shahinur Izran (former NFCorp CEO), Wan Shahinur Izmir and Wan Izzana Fatimah Zabedah who are both the company’s former directors.
The six companies that were named in the suit were National Meat & Livestock Corp Sdn Bhd, Real Food Co Sdn Bhd, Meatworks Corp Sdn Bhd, Agroscience Industries Sdn Bhd, Asian Bioscience Corp Sdn Bhd and Techknowlogy Imageware (M) Sdn Bhd.
The lawsuit is also seeking a court declaration to make the family personally liable for the repayments as well as RM118 million allegedly misappropriated from the RM250 million loan that was disbursed, along with any undeclared profit that may have arisen as a result of the alleged misappropriation.
Last month, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the government would sue NFCorp and Shahrizat’s family so they would be compelled to repay the loan.
Salleh had then responded by saying that NFCorp had last November notified Dr Mahathir that the company has an interested buyer who is willing to pay off the company’s debts in three months if the government agrees to the company’s restructuring.
Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Salahuddin Ayub later confirmed talks with NFCorp’s potential buyer but said such discussions were ongoing.
NFCorp had been tasked with developing the local cattle industry.
The NFCorp cattle-rearing project was intended to reduce Malaysia’s reliance on imported beef, but the firm’s scandal saw Salleh being charged in March 2012 with two counts of criminal breach of trust involving RM49.7 million of the company’s funds.
Salleh was acquitted in November 2015 of the charges, following his lawyer’s letter of representation to the AGC.