Based on an earlier request from Zakaria via a letter dated June 20, the board had previously granted him an extension to submit an explanation to the show-cause letter from 4.30pm on Tuesday, June 20, until noon on Friday, June 23.

“The FGV board has agreed to grant a second and final extension of time until 12 noon on Thursday, June 29, for the group president/chief executive officer to submit an explanation to the show-cause letter, and all the documents requested have also been granted and given to him today,” FGV said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

The show-cause letter relates to the long-outstanding debt of Safitex Trading LLC with Delima Oil Products Sdn Bhd.

Zakaria, along with three other senior executives, was suspended from duties on June 6 amid a probe into alleged irregularities in business dealings between Safitex and Delima Oil Products, an FGV subsidiary.

FGV said the group president/CEO and group chief financial officer would continue to be on leave of absence until further notice from the board.