Editor’s note: Added in the final two paragraphs feedback from Petra Group’s corporate communications’ representative.
MULTIPLE investigative agencies have raided offices linked to Kuala Lumpur-based tycoon Datuk Vinod Sekhar in what is believed to be the start of one of the biggest money laundering cases since the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) investigations three years ago.
According to news portal MalaysiaNow, officers from the National Financial Crime Centre (NFCC) and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) as well as from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) have conducted raids at the premises of Petra Group.
Petra Group which operates a chain of companies and organisations is headed by Vinod, a businessman who is a strong supporter of PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“A source close to the investigations told MalaysiaNow that the raid some two weeks ago in Bangsar followed months of investigations into alleged money laundering and tax evasion involving hundreds of millions of ringgit,” reported the news portal.
“It said officers had seized ‘some documents and items’ as part of the probe. It is also learnt that the raids were carried out while Vinod was out the country.”
Vinod, 53, is the son of the late Tan Sri B.C. Sekhar who was credited with modernising Malaysia’s rubber industry. He was declared bankrupt by the High Court in 2005 for a corporate guarantee and not as principled debtor to finance company Orix Credit Malaysia Sdn Bhd for RM1.5 mil in 1996.
In an interview with FocusM on May 27, Vinod said he contested the action of the Insolvency Department in 2011, and the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed the former’s application on the basis that the signatures on the bankruptcy order were forged alongside other inconsistencies.
A check with the Petra Group corporate communications department revealed that there was “no raid” at its premises as claimed by MalaysiaNow.
“It was a visit by MACC and IRB … They are looking into an anonymous report made on one of our companies. They were met, and whatever they requested was provided. They didn’t confiscate anything. It was not a raid, it was a visit for information on one company,” added the group’s representative. – Nov 29, 2021
