The Grand Borneo Hotel brings to three the total number of hotels currently being investigated by the anti-graft agency, the New Straits Times reported today.
The three-star hotel was reportedly acquired by Felda in 2012 for RM86.4 million.
According to the daily, investigators became suspicious over the Grand Borneo Hotel while probing into two other deals by FIC involving the four-star Grand Plaza Kensington Hotel in London and the five-star Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites in Kuching.
The report quoted a source who said MACC was seeking to determine if the acquisition of the Grand Borneo Hotel was made in the same manner as the other two.
“When investigators cracked open the London hotel purchase, information surfaced about Merdeka Palace and that is why we began investigations into that deal.
“It is the same with the Grand Borneo Hotel deal,” the source said.
FIC acquired the Grand Plaza Kensington Hotel on Dec 16, 2014, allegedly at a much higher price than the market price. This purportedly resulted in FIC losing millions of ringgit.
The hotel in Kuching is also believed to have been bought at a price much higher than the original value.
On Tuesday, MACC arrested former Felda chairman Isa Samad in relation to the hotel deals. He was remanded on Wednesday for five days.