Durai said to have given out contracts to companies he had interests in

By Hasnita A Majid, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 09 January 2007 2144 hrs

SINGAPORE : During the proceeding, the court was also told that Durai gave out contracts to companies which he had interests in.

One of them, Global Net Relations or GNR, was a business venture between him and former NKF board member Matilda Chua.

TT Durai and Matilda Chua set up GNR together in late 1999.

Chua was its CEO and both of them were shareholders and also directors of the company.

GNR later had dealings with Protonweb Solutions - a company belonging to Pharis Aboobaker - whom Durai met in Chennai.

Pharis also owns another company, Forte.

NKF lawyer K Shanmugam told the court Durai awarded an IT contract to Forte and entered into a call services outsourcing agreement with Protonweb Solutions - amounting to some $5 million - without the proper tender process - a clear violation of NKF's tender protocol.

The IT software, called Cradle, was later marketed by GNR, using the NKF as advertisement in its sales pitch both locally and overseas.

Mr Shanmugam said that although Durai had interests in GNR and Protonweb Solutions, those interests were never disclosed.

He also said that Durai and Matilda caused the NKF to go into contracts that would bring profit to them, but which is causing the charity to pay out against its interests.

The court was told Durai also tried to hide evidence of his links with GNR, by selling his shares and transferring the money to Chua, destroying documents and deleting emails on GNR. - CNA /dt