Former Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) chairman and UMNO leader Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim was charged at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on September 9 under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009. This follows an investigation related to disclosures from a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on TH's management and operations between 2014 and 2020. The RCI report, published on July 29, recommended a forensic audit of past investment decisions that led to a significant decline in the institution's asset value.
Azeez Rahim had been previously remanded for seven days, along with a former Treasury secretary-general, to assist with the investigations. The RCI report identified investments requiring a forensic audit and indicated that seven of Tabung Haji’s 14 investments between 2014 and 2020 resulted in losses. The MACC is also filing charges for alleged abuse of power and misappropriation of $334.2 million linked to investments in TH Marine, TH Alam, and TH Alam Management, in addition to corruption charges related to a 30% stake in Putrajaya Perdana Bhd.
Separately, Malaysia's anti-corruption agency arrested an unnamed former minister on September 1 in connection with a hotel lease scandal at Tabung Haji, following the RCI report that exposed $1 billion in losses from a failed Saudi Arabia property investment. This particular investment, the Al-Rawda hotel deal in Mecca and Medina, involved Tabung Haji paying 1.4 billion Saudi riyals (approximately $1.5 billion) between 2015 and 2017 to lease four hotels. The Saudi company, Al-Rawda Real Estate Development, defaulted on repayment, leading Tabung Haji to recognize a full impairment loss of $1 billion in 2024. The total hotel lease investment is valued at approximately $2.68 billion, and charges are expected to be filed next week against a VIP in this case. The MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Abd Halim Aman confirmed that 18 individuals have been detained, 11 remanded, and 245 witnesses called in connection with the wider probe.
Other notable cases include the August 27 charging of former Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob for failure to declare assets. The RCI report documented various weaknesses in Tabung Haji’s management, including suspicious transactions and problematic investments, and the MACC has opened 14 investigation papers, four of which were classified as 'no further action'. These ongoing investigations highlight serious governance failures at Malaysia’s pilgrimage fund.
