Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd
According to Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) documents sighted by The Vibes, Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd is owned by businessman Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary and his wife Sharifah Zarah Syed Kechik.
The former holds a majority stake in the company with 99% of the RM500,000 shares.
The couple is named as the sole directors of the investment holding company, with Syed Mokhtar being director since its incorporation in November 2011 while Sharifah Zarah only joined the company’s board of directors several years later in May 2015.
The company appears to be in the red as its financial information for 2021 recorded a loss of RM72.1 million amid a revenue of RM2.6 million.
The company, incorporated in 2011, has its registered business address set at the same building in Taman Tasik Perdana as Syed Mokhtar’s charity organisation Al-Bukhary Foundation.
In a press statement on March 9, after he was released on bail from MACC custody prior to being charged, Muhyiddin said he had explained to the MACC that Syed Mokhtar appealed to him when he was prime minister to reverse the cancellation of the foundation’s tax exemption status.
Muhyiddin said the decision was made by the Finance Ministry and Inland Revenue Board, with only a note from him that he had no objection if the appeal was above board – and that because of this note, he was being accused of graft.
His claim that the foundation was pulled from tax exemptions by former finance minister Lim Guan Eng during the Pakatan Harapan administration has also been denied by the DAP chairman.
Syed Mokhtar, known for his philanthropic endeavours and wide-ranging entrepreneurship dealings, also made it to Forbes’ 2022 list as the 15th richest Malaysian with an estimated net worth of US$1.5 billion (RM6.8 billion).
Bukhary Equity is mentioned in both of Muhyiddin’s AMLATFPUAA charges. The Pagoh MP is accused of receiving illicit funds amounting to RM195 million from the company on two occasions, with the funds being deposited into Bersatu’s CIMB bank account in 2021 and 2022.
The two charges are framed under Section 4(1)(b) whereby if found guilty, Muhyiddin could face a maximum of 15 years in jail and be liable to a fine of not less than five times the sum or value of the proceeds of an unlawful activity at the time the offence was committed, or RM5,000,000, whichever is higher.
Bukhary Equity also appears in one of the charges for abuse of power under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009, whereby Muhyiddin is accused of using his prime ministerial and party position to solicit RM200 million from the company in February 2021 at the Prime Minister’s Office.
If found guilty, Muhyiddin faces a maximum of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the sum or value of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
Source : The Vibes
The Coverage Malaysia