Sakto

The Sakto Corporation is a real estate empire centered in Ottawa, Ontario, owned by Hisham and Jamilah Murray.[1] The company has been noted for its "great success in attracting government tenants",[2] and its founders lauded as socialites hosting gala fundraising and charitable dinners.[3]

Sakto Corp at Preston Square, Ottawa

Owners

Born 'Sean Patrick Murray' into a family of architects, Hisham converted to Islam and took the name “Mohamad Nor Hisham Murray”. Hisham's uncle, Patrick J. Murray, served as the mayor of Rockcliffe Park.[2] In 1987 Hisham married Jamilah Taib who was studying business management at Carleton University and the daughter of Malasyian “tycoon” Abdul Taib Mahmud,[3] and together they set up a new company to manage the affairs of the recently created Sakto Development Corporation that Jamilah's family had entrusted her upon graduation.[2]

Holdings and interests

The Sakto Corporation's main base is within Preston Square, which consists of three office towers and a condominium complex west of downtown Ottawa.[4] The Ottawa holdings encompass Waterford Development, Adelaide Ottawa Corp, Tower One Holding Corp, Tower Two Holding Corp, Urban Sky Investments and Urban Sky Europe. Hisham branched out to help develop the sister corporations "Sakti International" in San Francisco and Wallysons Inc in Seattle.[2] It remained a family business, and Hisham set up his brother Thady as president of City Gate International, his cousin Chris to head Ridgeford Properties in London, and his cousin Brian to handle Ottawa rentals.[2]

Within a year of its formation, Sakto had purchased 400 apartment units around Ottawa,[2] and by 1989 a glass office building costing $15 million had been completed.[2] The company operated at a loss for nearly the first decade of business, and by 1992 it held $40 million of assets against $48 million of debt.[2] They were aided by a $73 million loan from Manulife Financial.[2] Hisham branched out to help develop the sister corporations "Sakti International" in San Francisco and Wallysons Inc in Seattle.[2]

Philanthropy

Jamilah Taib has long worked with the private girls' Elmwood School, including hosting its gala events.[5] Similarly she has donated to the Ashbury College leadership-training camp for girls in Ottawa[6] while Hisam supports the college's Ashbury Cadet Corps and member at Young Presidents Organization.[7]

In 2018, Sakto unsuccessfully sued the Bruno Manser Fonds activists in a Swiss court, demanding they remove documents suggesting they were linked to corruption and deforestation in the Sarawak region of Malaysia.[4][8]

gollark: I have bred all but 11 (which can't breed due to gender imbalance etc.) I can't wait to see how happy the forum will be with my ~200 random messies!
gollark: <@366271094648209422>
gollark: Please breed them now to the AP while I'm still doing the last 150.
gollark: With some micromangement of breeding partners I managed to get 6 "3G" omen saltkins into the general mess I'm producing.
gollark: 249 random thingies to breed.

References
  1. "The Dam that Wouldn't Die". Asia Sentinel. 15 August 2007. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2010. The CMS takeover also reflects the politics of New Economic Policy privatization exercises in Malaysia...
  2. Straumann, Lukas. "Money Logging: On the Trail of the Asian Timber Mafia", pp. 25-30
  3. How Canada's Wealthy Couple Splash Sarawak's Cash, 2019
  4. National Observer, Ottawa real estate firm takes Malaysian rainforest campaigners to court, October 22, 2018
  5. Elmwood Gala raises record-breaking $325k, 2018
  6. "404 Page". marketwired.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  7. "La politica es la politica: In Cozy Ottawa, Philanthropy Provides Good Cover for Sakto Corporation". lapoliticaeslapolitica.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  8. "La politica es la politica: Jamilah Taib and Sean Murray ordered to pay $220,000 to Swiss NGO". lapoliticaeslapolitica.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
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