Minister denies keeping gold coin

Minister denies keeping gold coin

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Following a report of a Standard Chartered
Plc probe into missing gold coins, a Malaysian minister said
Thursday he had returned a US$10,000 gold coin given to him by a
representative of the bank.

Youth and Sports Minister Ghani Othman said the $10,000 gold
coin was given to him as a sample three years ago by a
representative of the bank's Hong Kong-based Mocatta bullion unit
when he was deputy finance minister.

But he had returned the coin to Dr. Steven Goh, one of the
members of the Mocatta unit, which had sent a delegation to meet
him over the bank's proposal to set up a bonded warehouse for
gold bullion in Malaysia.

He did not indicate clearly when the coin was returned, but an
aide said Ghani returned it to Goh shortly after the meeting with
the delegation.