GEORGE TOWN – Penang Development Corporation (PDC) submitted documents to Bukit Aman’s anti-money laundering taskforce last Friday to assist in its ongoing probe into the Mobility Beyond Imagination (MBI) investment scam, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said today.
Chow, who also chairs the PDC board, said officers from the federal taskforce had visited the agency on July 9 and requested meeting minutes and financial records related to the Penang World City (PWC) project in Bayan Mutiara.
The documents specifically involve payments made to PDC for land purchased by Mutiara Metropolis Sdn Bhd (MMSB), formerly known as Tropicana Ivory Sdn Bhd (TISB).
“It is believed that the focus of the probe, as conveyed to PDC, is to examine whether any of the funds paid by MMSB between 2011 and 2019 may have been linked to the MBI scam,” Chow told a press conference at his office in Komtar.
He said PDC had fully complied with the request and submitted the documents – including meeting minutes and financial records – on July 18.
Chow also stressed that PDC had acted in accordance with due process throughout the period under review.
He listed four key agreements signed in relation to the PWC project:
i. Purchase and development agreement between Chief Minister of Penang Incorporated (CMI), PDC and Ivory Properties Group Bhd (IPGB) on November 11, 2011
ii. First supplemental agreement between CMI, PDC and IPGB on October 24, 2013
iii. Second supplemental agreement between the same parties on June 23, 2014
iv. Novation and supplemental agreement involving PDC, CMI, IPGB and TISB on November 1, 2019
As of this month, MMSB has informed that reclamation works for the PWC project are 68% complete, while overall development progress – including future phases – is estimated at 44%.
“PDC will continue to cooperate with investigators and provide any further information required,” said Chow.
On speculation that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is also investigating PDC over the MBI scam, Chow said he has not been informed of any such probe.
“However, since the press has started asking about it, I will ask PDC to provide some details,” he added.
To date, over RM3.5 billion worth of assets – including a hotel, durian farms, luxury vehicles, watches, and bank accounts – have been seized or frozen in connection with the scam.
MBI Group International was founded by Malaysian businessman Teddy Teow, who is currently in custody in China following his extradition from Thailand last year. – July 21, 2025