Bekas eksekutif kewangan jelas bayaran jadi RM888,000

Ogos 2, 11 8:50pm

Bekas eksekutif kanan kewangan Pembangunan Pelancongan Malaysia Berhad (PEMPENA) menjelaskan kepada Mahkamah Sesyen Kuala Lumpur hari ini bagaimana bayaran bagi projek pembinaan Restoran Malaysia di Dubai meningkat daripada RM874,155 kepada RM888,000.

Zeti Akhmar Mohamad Yusop berkata peningkatan itu disebabkan Bank CIMB yang mengendalikan akaun PEMPENA tidak dapat membuat pembayaran tersebut kepada Mashreq Bank di Dubai kerana bank berkenaan tidak menyenaraikan dirham dalam senarai transaksi mata wang asingnya.

Zeti, 35, berkata pihak CIMB mencadangkan agar ia menggunakan mata wang riyal untuk memudahkan bayaran itu.

Ketika pemeriksaan utama oleh Timbalan Pendakwa Raya Azlina Rasdi, Zeti berkata bayarannya hanya dijelaskan kepada syarikat LCL Interiors LLC pada 3 Mac 2007 mengikut kadar mata wang semasa dirham (AED) Emiriyah Arab Bersatu.

Zeti berkata beliau membuat makluman kiriman wang kepada CIMB setelah diarahkan berbuat demikian oleh pengawal kewangan Lim Khing Tai pada 26 Januari 2007.

Beliau berkata makluman kiriman wang berkenaan telah diserahkannya kepada Lim untuk mendapatkan tandatangan Ketua Pengarah Tourism Malaysia Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab atau bekas Ketua Pegawai Operasi PEMPENA Mohammad Rosly Md Selamat, dan hanya menerimanya semula pada 22 Februari 2007.

"Saya tidak tahu kenapa ia mengambil masa begitu lama, tetapi kedua-dua mereka ada menandatanganinya dan tahu tujuan arahan pengeluaran wang berkenaan," katanya.

Zeti, yang merupakan saksi pendakwaan keempat, menyatakan demikian pada perbicaraan kes membabitkan Mirza, 54 dan Mohammad Rosly, 57, yang mengaku tidak bersalah atas tuduhan pecah amanah RM888,000 di pejabat Pempena di Tingkat 13, Manara Datuk Onn, Pusat Dagangan Dunia Putra (PWTC) di sini pada 27 Februari 2007.

Sementara itu, ketika disoal balas oleh peguam Saseedharan Menon yang mewakili Mirza, bahawa bayaran tersebut sebenarnya dibuat untuk projek "Little Penang" di Hyderabad, India dan bukan untuk projek di Dubai, Zeti tidak bersetuju dengan cadangan berkenaan.

Zeti berkata bahagian akaun di PEMPENA mempunyai kod-kod akaun yang khas dan bayaran yang disempurnakan adalah untuk projek di Dubai.

Ketika ditanya lanjut oleh Saseedharan kenapa makluman kiriman wang bertarikh 3 Mac 2007 bagi bayaran RM888,000 yang tidak ditandatangani Mirza atau Rosly, beliau berkata ia sebenarnya dikeluarkan oleh pihak bank.

"Ini sebenarnya jarang berlaku dan borang permohonan bukan diisi oleh saya. Pihak bank ada menjelaskan ia sebenarnya untuk mempercepatkan bayaran dan menggunakan butiran pada borang permohonan bertarikh 27 Februari 2007," jelas Zeti.

Perbicaraan di hadapan Hakim Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh bersambung esok.

- Bernama

http://malaysiakini.com/news/171813

In Dubai, the state of The World is in dispute

AFP/File – An aerial view shows a cluster of man-made islands known as "The World". The cluster of 300 …

by W.G. Dunlop W.g. Dunlop – Fri Jan 28, 6:23 am ET

DUBAI (AFP) – A cluster of 300 artificial islands off Dubai's coast in the shape of a global map is stable, its developer Nakheel insists, despite a court claim alleging that "The World" was neglected and eroding away.

"There is no issue with the stability of The World islands that are approximately 70 percent sold and handed over," a Nakheel spokesman said when asked about the allegations.

"The island purchasers (have) the responsibility to proceed with their developments in due course," he added.

The islands, many of which represent individual countries and which can only be accessed by boat or helicopter, were meant to be one of the Gulf city-state's crowning developments.

Builders have announced plans for a few of the islands, but development has yet to begin on most of them.

A company contracted to provide logistics support to the islands filed a claim with a tribunal that handles cases related to the emirate's troubled Dubai World conglomerate, alleging that third-party developers had not been encouraged to develop the islands, and said they were being hit by erosion.

Nakheel subsidiary The World LLC "did not develop the project as anticipated at the time of the agreement and the project has lain largely undeveloped," according to the claim filed by Penguin Marine Boats Services LLC.

Penguin is contracted to pay "a licence fee of 5 million dirhams ($1.36 million dollars) per annum" to conduct operations, but the lack of development on the islands means it has "been unable to develop its business opportunities," the claim said.

Additionally, "the navigation channels... are presently so ill-defined and the water depths have been so seriously eroded due to reclaimed sand silting up the navigation channels that major reclamation works will henceforth be required," it said.

A lawyer for Penguin Marine, Richard Wilmot-Smith, was quoted by local media as having told the tribunal that "the islands are gradually falling back into the sea."

Nakheel dismissed the allegations as "misleading and mischievous statements."

"The wholly incorrect and unsupported assertion relating to the state of The World islands was made in the context of a legal case brought against The World LLC by a logistics provider," the spokesman said.

"Nakheel will continue to protect the interests of its operations and stakeholders and take such action as is appropriate in the circumstances," he added.

The spokesman said that the case "was dismissed with costs awarded in favour of The World LLC. We are vindicated by the court's decision."

However, a final judgment with reasons for the decision has not yet been posted to the tribunal's website, where judgments appear after they have been issued.

Abu Dhabi-based English-language daily The National said that the tribunal ruled against Penguin but has not yet given its reasons for doing so.

Lawyers for Penguin Marine declined to comment, and the company's general manager Alex Labor said only that "Penguin's position is... what our lawyers said during the trial."

Nakheel, which developed Dubai's iconic palm-shaped islands and the Atlantis luxury hotel among other developments, was hard-hit by the global economic crisis, which led to a sharp fall in Dubai real estate prices.

Nakheel was to split from parent company Dubai World, which rocked global financial markets when it announced in November 2010 that it needed to freeze debt payments, under a debt restructuring plan.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110128/wl_mideast_afp/uaepropertylitigation_20110128112334

The World ‘ditelan laut’

PROJEK BERMASALAH ...kedudukan The World dilihat dari udara.

DUBAI: Deretan pulau buatan manusia yang membentuk corak seperti peta dunia - dikenali sebagai projek mewah The World - kini dilaporkan berdepan dengan ancaman kemusnahan.

Berdasarkan keterangan saksi di sebuah tribunal hartanah, pulau buatan manusia terletak empat kilometer di luar pantai Dubai itu dikatakan mula tenggelam ke dalam laut.

Pulau itu dibangunkan untuk menempatkan villa mewah dan kompleks hotel khusus untuk golongan jutawan.

Ia hanya boleh dimasuki menggunakan perahu layar atau bot.

Peguam Britain yang mewakili syarikat Penguin Marine, Richard Wilmot-Smith, berkata pasir yang dijadikan pulau itu semakin terhakis, manakala terusan di antaranya semakin berkeladak.

“Pulau itu mendap perlahan-lahan akibat hakisan,” katanya di depan hakim.

Penguin Marine mengemukakan saman ke atas konglomerat milik kerajaan Dubai, Nakheel, terpaksa diselamatkan akibat bebanan hutang melampau - dianggarkan bernilai RM76.5 bilion pada akhir 2009.

Ekoran penstrukturan semula syarikat itu, sebuah tribunal ditubuhkan bagi mengendalikan sebarang kes berkaitan dengannya.

Sebelum masalah kewangan muncul, hanya satu daripada pulau buatan manusia itu belum lagi dibangunkan dengan sebarang projek.

Bagaimanapun, ketika ini kebanyakan projek pembangunan terbengkalai akibat krisis kewangan.

Kebanyakan pelabur yang membeli pulau itu akhirnya enggan atau tidak mampu meneruskan pembangunan apabila harga hartanah Dubai menjunam ekoran masalah berkenaan.

Seorang daripada pemiliknya, John O’Dolan, membunuh diri kerana kerugian, manakala seorang lagi dipenjara tujuh tahun kerana mengeluarkan cek tendang. -

http://www.hmetro.com.my/myMetro/articles/TheWorld__8216_ditelanlaut__8217_/Article/index_html