Arul Kanda Kandasamy

Azrul Kanda Kandasamy or better known as his birth name, Arul Kanda was the president and chief executive officer of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB),[1] a company owned by the Minister of Finance of Malaysia.[2] He was appointed as the CEO to replace Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman who resigned on 5 January 2015.[3][4]

Arul Kanda
Born
Arul Kanda Kandasamy

1976 (age 43–44)
Sitiawan, Perak, Malaysia
Citizenship
  • Malaysia
Alma materUniversity College London
Occupationformer CEO of 1MDB
Years activeJanuary 2015 – 28 June 2018
Spouse(s)Unknown
Children2

1MDB has been under heavy scrutiny for its suspicious money transactions and evidences pointing to money laundering activities. In a lawsuit filed by United States Department of Justice (DOJ), it is stated that at least USD$7.5 billion has been stolen from Malaysia's 1MDB state-owned fund.[5][6]

Further investigations by Malaysian authorities lead to Kanda's dismissal from 1MDB in June 2018.[7]

Education and career

Kanda received high school education at Malaysian Royal Military College in Kuala Lumpur, before moved to London where he obtained an LLB from the London School of Economics in 1998 and an LLM in corporate and commercial law from University College London in 2000. After completing his education, Kanda worked for Calyon Financial, which later merged with Fimat Banque to become Newedge Group. Between 2002 and 2004 he worked as Securitisation analyst and then became the associate director of Securitisation. Later, he served as the director of Capital Markets for Bahrain for one year, until he was appointed as the Head of Islamic Banking at the firm.[8]

1MDB scandal
Main article: 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal

Kanda came under investigation in May 2018, for criminal breach of trust for allegedly falsifying information regarding 1MDB's financial status.[9]

Prior to Malaysia's 14th general election (GE14), Kanda had toured the country to explain that 1MDB financial status was well via a series of You Ask, We Answer sessions. After the election, which saw Barisan Nasional, the previous government's surprise defeat, he was summoned by the Minister of Finance to explain the plans to settle MYR143.75 million which has to be paid to lenders by 30 May 2018. During this session, Kanda claimed ignorance when questioned about the company's financial status, saying he was on garden leave till the end of his contract on 30 June 2018. His ignorance was criticized by Malaysia's new Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng as utterly dishonest and untrustworthy.[10][11][12][13]

Termination

On 28 June 2018, two days before the end of his employment contract, Kanda has been sacked from 1MDB on grounds of dereliction of duties.[14]

His contract was initially supposed to end in December 2017, but was given another six-month extension in January 2018. Kanda was paid MYR2.5 million for the extension, with another MYR2.5 million to be paid on 30 June 2018. With the sacking, 1MDB would also claim back the MYR2.5 million that was already paid, and will cancel the payment of the remaining MYR2.5 million.[15]

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References
  1. "Arul Kanda Kandasamy Biography". Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  2. "New 1MDB president outlines his strategy for the company - Business News". The Star Online. January 8, 2015. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  3. "1MDB president Arul Kanda considering legal action against Finance Minister over 'personal attacks'". The Straits Times. May 24, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  4. "1MDB takes seriously views of Malay rulers, says Arul Kanda". The Rakyat Post. October 28, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  5. "1MDB: The inside story of the world's biggest financial scandal". The Guardian. July 28, 2016.
  6. "Malaysia Seizes Najib's Trove of 350 Containers of Cash, Handbags and Jewelry - The New York Times". Nytimes.com. May 15, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  7. "1MDB chief Arul Kanda sacked for dereliction of duties". The Strait Times. June 30, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  8. "Malaysian 1MDB scandal: Who is Arul Kanda". International Business Times. February 19, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  9. Syed Jaymal Zahiid (May 26, 2018). "MP wants police to probe Arul Kanda, former 1MDB execs for CBT". Malay Mail. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  10. "Guan Eng slams Arul Kanda as "utterly dishonest and untrustworthy"". The Sun Daily. May 23, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  11. "Guan Eng slams Arul Kanda for being 'dishonest and untrustworthy'". The Edge Markets. May 24, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  12. "Guan Eng slams Arul Kanda as 'dishonest, untrustworthy'". FMT News. May 23, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  13. "Former directors say 1MDB can't pay its debts, RM9.8bil of 'investments' are scams". The Star Online. May 23, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  14. "1MDB sacks Arul Kanda". The Edge Market. June 29, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  15. "Arul Kanda sacked from 1MDB?". Malay Mail. June 29, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
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