PKR has provided Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) several fresh leads for its investigation into a businessman who in 2008 was accused of smuggling money to Kuala Lumpur.

NONE The details were provided to the ICAC this morning following Hong Kong chief prosecutor Kevin Paul Zervos' promise to reopen the investigation should new evidence emerge.

The party delegation, led by PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli ( second from right in photo ), submitted a report with supporting documents with details on:

1. Former Sabah Umno committee member Lajim Ukin's ignorance that the money, reportedly amounting to RM40 million, was a donation for his party.

2. Former United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (UPKO) deputy president Wilfred Bumburing's claim that the RM40 million was deposited in a personal account and not that of Umno, as reported by Malaysian Insider last month.

3. Alleged links between de facto Law Minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz - the person who told Parliament that the money was political donation - and Michael Chia, the businessman in question.

In a press statement issued today, Rafizi said the PKR delegation had a discussion with ICAC officers on the three issues, and they stressing that they believe the claim of the Malaysian authorities that the RM40 million was a “ political donation ” to be untrue.

More evidence soon

“Other than these three issues, PKR also agreed to hand over more evidence, including proof of transactions in Hong Kong, to the ICAC in three weeks to help in their investigation,” Rafizi said.

Zervos had on Tuesday been quoted by Free Malaysia Today (FMT) as saying that Hong Kong had "insufficient evidence" at the time to "take the case further".

azlan "Material that was obtained from Malaysia was that it was political donations.

"If anything comes up now to show that this wasn’t the case, the matter would definitely be looked into," Zervos is quoted as saying in the FMT report.

In 2008, Chia was investigated by Hong Kong authorities for allegedly trying to board a plane to Kuala Lumpur with Singapore currency worth RM40 million.

Speculations over the purpose and source of the money have been rife, since Chia is well-connected and is said to enjoy very cozy ties with Sabah chief minister and the state's Umno chief, Musa Aman.

Four years later, Nazri told Parliament that both the Attorney-General's Chambers and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had cleared Chia of any wrongdoing.

He said both departments had also concluded that the funds were meant for Sabah Umno and not for Musa.