PKR today took to task the Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) for defending its investment arm Boustead Holdings Bhd over a controversial land deal in Kota Raja, Klang by claiming that it did not involve money from the army’s pension fund.

PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli said Boustead was today in a strong financial position to enter the deal, described as a bailout, due to years of money pumped into the company from LTAT’s funds.

“Had it not been for the funds from army pensioners, Boustead today will not be as rich as it is to be able to bail out Umno leaders like this,” he told a press conference at the PKR headquarters today.

Rafizi was responding to LTAT chairperson Admiral Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor, who in a statement yesterday, defended the deal by saying Boustead Holding Bhd was using its own funds from property development profits and which did not involve money from the army pension fund, LTAT.

Boustead Holdings Bhd, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Bakti Wira Sdn Bhd, had announced last week that it will purchase an 80 percent stake in businessperson Deepak Jaikishan’s company, AstaCanggih Sdn Bhd, for RM30 million and another RM130 million for 200 acres of Bukit Raja land from Selangor Umno Wanita chief Raja Ropiaah Raja Abdullah’s company, Awan Megah Sdn Bhd.

‘Boustead buying debt-ridden company’

The Bukit Raja land is part of an exchange granted by the government for Awan Megah in exchange for the company to design and construct of the National Defence Research Centre (Puspahanas) in Putrajaya.

Rafizi also shot down LTAT’s defence that Boustead Holdings Bhd had negotiated to acquire the land since 2005, and therefore its recent conclusion was not a bailout of Raja Ropiaah’s company.

“If this was true, then Boustead should have been awarded the contract to construct Puspahanas and the lands be given to it as payment from the beginning. Why was it that in 2005 when the negotiations began, the project was granted to Awan Megah?” he said.

He also rebutted Mohd Anwar’s claim about AstaCanggih Sdn Bhd’s financial health, supposedly that it did not have any outstanding loan on hand.

“From our search, we are sure that the company has a RM98 million debt with Kuwait Finance House and when you buy over a company, you also buy over their debt,” he said.

He also likened Mohd Anwar’s claim that the deal was sound to Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin’s exact statement when the RM250 million National Feedlot Corporation scandal first emerged before it imploded.

VIDEO l 2.00 mins