Former FIC CEO Charged With Deceiving Board of Directors Over RM330 Mil Land Valuation and Development Deal

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 – The former chief executive officer (CEO) of FELDA Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd (FIC) was charged at the Sessions Court on Tuesday with two counts of deceiving the company’s board of directors 12 years ago.

Mohd Zaid Abdul Jalil, 55, pleaded not guilty and claimed trial to both charges read before Judge Rosli Ahmad.

According to the first charge, Mohd Zaid is accused of deceiving the FIC board into believing that Synergy Promenade Sdn Bhd was qualified to be appointed as the Project Delivery Partner–Master Developer for a proposed commercial development project on FELDA land along Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur, despite knowing the company was only qualified as a Master Planner.

On the second charge, Mohd Zaid is alleged to have misled the board regarding the valuation of 24 FELDA-owned land parcels slated for the development. He allegedly reported the valuation by Firdaus & Associates Property Professionals Sdn Bhd as RM330.96 million, knowing the actual figure was RM691.7 million.

Additionally, he was aware that the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) had never provided an initial RM180 million estimate as claimed.

The alleged deceptions led the board to approve Synergy Promenade’s appointment and accept its commercial offer based on a minimum guaranteed return of RM500 million or 10 per cent of gross development value, whichever was higher.

Both alleged offenses occurred at Menara FELDA, Platinum Park, on Jan 16 and April 29, 2014. The charges are framed under Section 417 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both upon conviction.

Judge Rosli set bail at RM60,000 with one surety for both charges. The court ordered the accused to report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) monthly and surrender his passport following his scheduled umrah pilgrimage in November. Case mention and document submission have been fixed for Oct 29.

The prosecution forms part of a broader probe into asset purchases and investments by FELDA and FIC between 2010 and 2020, with MACC opening six new investigation papers alongside an existing file into the Kuala Lumpur Vertical City project.

–NMT