This follows the announcement earlier today by the foundation’s director Jamalul Kiram Mohd Zakaria that it has filed a suit against Musa to recover RM872 million that went missing during his tenure as the trustee’s chairman.

Jamalul said the board of trustees believed the funds had gone missing due to “timber activities of a dubious nature”.

He said the board had filed the claim with the High Court here through the e-filing system on June 16, naming several others in addition to Musa and listing monetary transactions involving a number of offshore accounts.

In a statement, Musa’s counsel Tengku Fuad Tengku Ahmad said his client denied the allegations.

“Tan Sri Musa denies that he has ever breached any of his fiduciary duties as the Sabah Foundation chairman between 2003 and 2018.

“The allegations made against him today are scandalous and utterly false.

“Secondly, it is highly suspicious, irregular and improper to learn of Yayasan Sabah’s alleged suit through a press release and the media,” he said.

Tengku Fuad said that normally, when a suit is filed, the claim and cause papers are served on the defendant or his lawyer.

“In this case, neither Tan Sri Musa nor I have been served with any papers whatsoever. This is peculiar because surely it is not hard to find my office or Tan Sri’s house?”

“The more likely explanation as to why we are hearing about this through the press is that this so-called suit is nothing more than a politically motivated publicity stunt – designed to distract and mislead the public,” he said.

Tengku Fuad said he had been instructed to receive service of the suit and would comment further in due course.

Fake or not? Check our quick fake news buster here.