Malaysia seized more than RM1 billion from a bank account of state-owned China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering (CPP) over incomplete pipeline projects, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday.<br /><br />The seizure comes nearly a year after Malaysia suspended two pipeline projects, valued at US$2.3 billion (RM9.45 billion), on which CPP was the lead contractor. CPP is a unit of state energy giant China National Petroleum Corp.<br /><br />“I understand that money for 80 percent of the pipeline was paid, but the work completed was only 13 percent," Mahathir told reporters.<br /><br />"So the government is entitled to get back the money, since the project was cancelled.”<br /><br />His comments followed a report on Saturday from Singapore-based Straits Times, which said that Malaysia had seized the funds from CPP's account at HSBC Malaysia.
