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Anwar Ibrahim Crony Vinod Sekhar Bangsar Offices Raided In Questionable Multi-Billion Money Laundering, Tax Evasion & Deal

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Posted on December 8, 2021

Multiple investigative agencies have raided offices linked to Kuala Lumpur-based businessman Vinod Sekhar, in what is believed to be the start of one of the biggest money laundering cases since the 1MDB investigations three years ago.

MalaysiaNow has learnt that officers from the National Financial Crime Centre (NFCC) and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), as well as from Bank Negara Malaysia and the Inland Revenue Board 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 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.

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.

When contacted, top officials from NFCC and MACC refused to comment or give further details, their standard response to corruption and money laundering investigations.

Vinod, 53, is the son of the late BC Sekhar who was credited with modernising Malaysia’s rubber industry. He was declared bankrupt by the High Court in 2005 but cleared of his bankruptcy status last year.

In June, MalaysiaNow reported that Vinod through GR Technologies, a company with an address in Bangsar, had secured the lion’s share of billions of dollars worth of contracts to supply ventilators to the Hungarian government.

Hungary’s purchase of ventilators from various suppliers kicked up a storm last year at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, with opposition politicians there calling out the deals for being opaque as well as resulting in an oversupply.

They also said the ventilators bought by Hungary were overpriced, and questioned why the purchases were made through the foreign affairs ministry.

Vinod confirmed getting the contract but insisted that “everything was above board”, adding that he had received a “normal percentage” in commission.

Documents obtained by MalaysiaNow from Hungary showed Budapest agreeing to pay Vinod a total of US$559,600,000, which at the time of the contract in May 2020 converted to about RM2.43 billion, through several bank accounts.

Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) has urged Hungary to release specific details related to the contracts to Vinod, saying there are questions on whether GR Technologies had fulfilled transparency regulations in the country.

TI’s Hungary chapter also questioned why Budapest agreed to pay the fees charged by GR Technologies to third parties, as well as whether the government had gone through a competitive bidding process.

Source : Malaysia Now

The details of an extraordinary deal for the sale of ventilators to Hungary have been revealed to journalists in Malaysia and Hungary.

Under pressure of pandemic, the Malaysian businessman Vinod Sekhar sold at least 800 ventilators to the Government of Hungary for a figure close to $60m. It has been alleged that this is some ten times greater per item than the prevailing market price.

The parties to the contract are GR Technologies of Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Datuk Vinod Sekhar and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Federal Republic of Hungary, based in Budapest, Hungary. Sekhar is described as the seller.

It is understood that the ventilators were supplied from China (with whom Hungary has formed a bridge to supply many forms of medical supplies to fight the pandemic).

Vinod Sekhar is a close ally of Anwar Ibrahim, a Malaysian opposition leader, and funds media sympathetic to Ibrahim. Vinod Sekhar was declared a bankrupt by the Malaysian High Court in 2005 but cleared of his bankruptcy status last year.

The first clause of the contract describes the ventilator as an ‘invasive medical ventilator device’ which will cost $73,500 per unit. The contract specifies a purchase number of 800. On this basis the cost of a single ventilator is $91.875. The total price given for 800 is given $58.8 million. Insurance and freight costs add a further $1,800,000.

The widely differing price range for ventilators bought by Hungary has been noted by Vadai Agnes, an MP from the Hungarian Democratic Coalition Party. She stated that, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade had bought one ventilator unit for an average price of $67,000 while the National Healthcare Service Centre had bought one unit for an average price of $36,000.

Clause 1.2 of the contract looks forward to an additional contract for the supply of 5,200 ‘sets of equivalent ventilators’. In the new contract, ‘the detailed terms of payment and delivery schedule of the remaining 5,200 sets will be finalised.’ No further details of a second or further contracts are given in this contract.

The total cost of 6000 ventilators at an individual cost of £91,875 is $55,125,000. This figure does not include any discount (that is the 2% offered on the first instalment). Press comment has pointed to a figure of $0.5 billion for all 6000 ventilators.

The third clause of the contract specifies the requirement for an advance payment of 100% of the total CIF value. CIF refers to “Cost, Insurance, and Freight” (CIF) which means that the Seller is responsible for delivery of the goods to a ship, loading the goods onto the ship, and insuring the shipment until it reaches the port of destination. This advance payment of $58m is due before 11pm (Budapest time) on 27 March 2020.

Malaysian businessman gets lion’s share of multibillion-dollar Hungary deal

A Malaysian businessman with close ties to local politicians has secured a giant portion of multibillion-dollar contracts from the government of Hungary for the supply of medical equipment, MalaysiaNow has learnt.

Vinod Sekhar, who operates a chain of companies and organisations under the Petra Group, has secured some RM2.5 billion worth of contracts to supply ventilators to the Hungarian government, among dozens of purchases amounting to billions of dollars by the east European country at the early stage of the Covid-19 crisis.

In one of many documents sighted by MalaysiaNow, Vinod was named as the representative for GR Technologies Sdn Bhd, a company with an address in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

Source : Malaysia Today

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Anwar Ibrahim Crony Vinod Sekhar Bangsar Offices Raided In Questionable Multi-Billion Money Laundering, Tax Evasion & Deal

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