THERE is a new twist to the feud in the family of the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong that controls Genting Bhd.

A further affidavit filed on May 4 by Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, to whom Goh Tong had passed the baton, questions the shareholding of Australia-listed Donaco International Ltd, in which his two nephews, Lim Keong Yew and Lim Keong Hoe, collectively hold a 49.2% stake.

Donaco controls the Star Vegas Resort & Club, a casino and hotel complex in Poipet, Cambodia, on the border with Thailand, as well as Aristo International Hotel, a casino in northern Vietnam, located on the border with Yunnan Province in southwest China.

Goh Tong, who died in October 2007, had funded the Aristo International Hotel, according to a court document.

Kok Thay is currently chairman and chief executive of Genting, which owns a controlling stake in two listed casino operators, namely Genting Malaysia Bhd and Genting Singapore Ltd.

The court document shows that the uncle-nephew feud in the Lim family is getting worse, with no sign of a ceasefire.

The Edge did not get to speak to members of either side. The first faction comprises the children of the late Lim Tee Keong, sons Joey Lim Keong Yew and Benjamin Lim Keong Hoe and daughter Marie Lim Seok Leng, and their families, while the other faction is made up of Kok Thay and his younger brother Datuk Lim Chee Wah. Tee Keong was Goh Tong’s eldest son, and the brother of Kok Thay and Chee Wah.

The further affidavit submitted on May 4 at a bankruptcy case — the late Datuk Lim Tee Keong ex-parte HLG Securities Sdn Bhd. TA Securities Holdings Bhd and TA Centre Bhd are looking to obtain a court order, under Section 31 of the Bankruptcy Act 1967, to query several individuals to ascertain whether there exists any assets owned by Tee Keong, and recover sums owed.

TA Securities and TA Centre are the wholly owned units of public-listed TA Enterprise Holdings Bhd.

The individuals sought include Kok Thay and Chee Wah, who is founder and president of the VXL Group of companies.

Tee Keong’s widow, Datin Agnes Tan Bee Gaik, and Joanne Fok Chan Kok, an individual with whom Tee Keong had two children, and several other officials were also called.

“It’s quite surprising,” one source familiar with the matter says of the new development.

Tee Keong was declared a bankrupt around 2003 and passed away in April 2014 without getting the bankruptcy order lifted. He owed as much as RM146.62 million to 13 creditors, including TA, according to court documents.

But did Tee Keong have any substantial shareholding in Donaco?

Kok Thay brought to light several documents, the first of which is a letter of undertaking, dated November 2012, signed by Keong Yew (eldest son of Tee Keong), which states that he was willing to transfer his shareholding in Slim Twinkle Ltd (which owns a 10.158% stake in Donaco) to Tee Keong after Dec 19, 2012, subsequent to a reverse takeover of Australia-listed company Two Way Ltd.

The second was a similar letter of undertaking by Keong Hoe (second son of Tee Keong).

There were also two undated share transfer forms, each transferring 50 shares from Slim Twinkle to Tee Keong, one signed by Keong Yew and another by Keong Hoe.

Kok Thay adds that he has spoken to one Lim Lian Huat (not a relation of the Lims), a trusted employee of Goh Tong, who shared a letter from Goh Tong to him dated Aug 15, 2002, and another given to Tee Keong through him.

The first letter indicates that Goh Tong funded the Aristo International Hotel in Lao Cai in 2002, and had directed that 51% of the shares in a company called Donaco Singapore Pte Ltd should be held by Tee Keong’s family and the remaining 49% by Tee Keong himself.

In his second letter, Goh Tong asked Tee Keong to cooperate with Lian Huat and two individuals, Ong Chong Hock and See Kim Cheong, who had been tasked with restructuring Donaco’s shareholdings.

Kok Thay says his nephews opposed the grant of probate for Tee Keong’s estate. A grant of probate authorises an executor to manage the estate of a deceased person, in this case, Tee Keong.

According to Donaco’s annual report for the year ended June 2016, Keong Yew controlled 31.8% of Donaco, 17.4% of which was jointly held with Keong Hoe.

Donaco, at its close last Friday, had a market capitalisation of A$432.2 million (RM1.37 billion). For the year ended June 2016, Donaco posted a net profit of A$78.7 million, which included a positive non-recurring item of A$55.2 million relating to an uplift in valuation, on revenue of A$143.4 million.

It is learnt that the relationship between uncle and nephew turned sour when Keong Yew and his two siblings found out that they had been removed as beneficiaries of the Tee Keong Family Trust, set up by Goh Tong in 1990.

The will of the late Tee Keong is also being disputed.

Keong Yew and Keong Hoe were not named as beneficiaries in the will. Their mother Tan was given 10% of Tee Keong’s estate and their sister Seok Leng got another 10%. However, the bulk was left to his children with Fok, with their son Kenneth Lim Keong Wye getting 60% and daughter Katherine Lim Seok Yan, 20%.

This is likely to be why they opposed the grant for probate by Kok Thay.

The Tee Keong Family Trust was set up under a trust deed dated May 18, 1990, by Goh Tong and held under Infoline. While it is not clear what assets Infoline manages, Keong Hoe and Seok Leng were removed as beneficiaries, which they contend is wrongful and unlawful, while Infoline begs to differ.