KUALA LUMPUR: A RM2.07bil land deal involving Bank Negara in connection with a rationalisation plan involving 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MBD) in 2017 was done hastily and without proper due diligence, says the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

       “The Bank Negara board of directors did not carry out adequate due diligence in the purchase of Lot 41 (in Section 51, Kuala Lumpur).

       “The board decided to buy the Lot 41 in nine days after discussions were held with the Finance Ministry on Aug 15, 2017, and three days after an offer was made by the Ministry on Aug 21,” PAC chairman Wong Kah Woh said in a statement Monday (Dec 13).

       The bi-partisan committee, he said, also found that the transaction for the purchase of the land was concluded in a short matter of time of only four months.

       “All these gives rise to doubts on whether Bank Negara had faced pressure from the government to make a decision,” he added.

       The PAC findings were based on the Auditor-General’s Report 2019 on Federal government agencies, which was tabled in Parliament on Dec 10 last year.

       The hearing by the PAC was held on Sept 20 this year with Deputy Auditor-General (Performance) Patimah Ramuji, Treasury secretary-general Datuk Asri Hamidon and BNM Governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus called in to testify.

       The hearing centred on the sale of the land by the government’s special purpose vehicle (SPV) Syarikat SPV Hartanah Mampan Sdn. Bhd to Bank Negara.

       The payment of RM1.035bil was made on Dec 19, 2017, and the second payment of RM1.035bil was made on Dec 27 the same year.

       Wong said that the PAC also found that the evaluation done by Suleiman & Co was high.

       This, he said, was because the evaluation was done based on the status of land use, which was categorised as “none”.

       “It was inappropriate to make the procurement payment of RM2.07bil without changing the category in land use status from ‘none’ to ‘building’ and that prior subdivision should have been made for land owned by the Malaysian Space Agency (MySA),” he added.

       The PAC also found that there were no prior plans to acquire the land in question under Bank Negara’s strategic planning for the period between 2015 and 2017.

       Wong said that the PAC recommended that investment and development decisions by Bank Negara should be free from influence from any quarters.

       Also recommended, he added, was that Bank Negara immediately settle the conversion of the land use and subdivision to ensure optimum use of the land.