By: WONG WEI-SHEN
PETALING JAYA: Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara), through trust company Thrushcross Land Holdings Ltd, has another property in the heart of Melbourne’s central business district (CBD).
In the spotlight: Mara has its headquarters in Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur.
The property, at No.746 Swanston Street, is eight storeys high and was valued at A$45mil two years ago.
It houses two complexes of student apartments, totalling 341 rooms, and is near a major tram stop. On the ground floor, there are restaurants and a convenience store.
Both it and Dudley House are managed by Mara Inc Sdn Bhd, one of Mara’s investment arms.
It also manages two other properties – No.51 Queen Street and No.333 Exhibition Street, which are commercial offices and retail buildings.
Thrushcross’ directors are Datuk Mohammad Lan Allani, Datuk Abd Halim A Rahim, Datuk Mohd Fathil Daud, Izmir Abd Hamid and Azizi Erwan, according to accounting documents and Australian Securities and Investments Commission records.
PKR vicepresident Rafizi Ramli has asked if it was true that Mara had two other properties aside from Dudley House and Swanston Street.
He claimed that the transactions for all the properties amounted to RM244.47mil.
“Is this at a fair or inflated price?” he asked in a press statement issued yesterday.
According to him, a probe by local nongovernmental organisation National Oversight and Whistleblowers Centre into Thrushcross has confirmed that it was registered in the British Virgin Islands, located in the Caribbean.
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