THP, a wholly-owned subsidiary of pilgrims fund Tabung Haji, said the allegations made by a blogger were unsubstantiated, false and baseless.

“The allegation seems to be based on a March 2017 report by Australia Financial Review (AFR) that Crestmount Capital, a Middle Eastern fund run by Prince Khaled, son of Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, had closed an A$100 million investment into Piety Investments, a Sydney residential developer.

“THP indeed has several investments with the Piety Group in developing residential projects in Sydney.

“All investments are made directly by THP from internal funds. Under no circumstances has THP in the past or at any material point in time, sought or secured funds from Crestmount Capital or other external investors,” it said in a statement.

Al-Waleed was arrested on Saturday along with at least 10 other princes, four ministers and tens of former ministers.

Commercial bankers told Reuters yesterday that they believed the authorities were acting at the behest of the Saudi government, which has said it aims to recover illicit funds.

A blogger by the name of Ganesh Sahathevan claimed on Wednesday that Khaled had invested A$100 million in various property developments in Sydney, and that his partner in the ventures was THP.

“Given the fact of Al-Waleed’s corruption charge and the freezing of his assets, Tabung Haji’s role in laundering his money must be assumed,” Ganesh said in the post on realpolitikasia.blogspot.my.

However, THP said it had obtained all required regulatory approvals in Malaysia and Australia for its projects in Sydney.

“THP is not privy to any dealings (if any) between Crestmount Capital and Piety Group. The insinuation that Crestmount Capital funds are gained has been made by the blogger alone, for which he or she must bear sole responsibility,” it added.