The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will call Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) to explain its property purchases overseas, especially in Australia.

PAC chairperson Nur Jazlan Mohamed told reporters today PAC will summon the government agency in the last week of August.

"The letter to summon Mara will be issued by the PAC secretary next week," he said.

Mara has been embroiled in controversy when it was exposed that it overpaid for several property purchases made in Australia.

Meanwhile, asked whether PAC was specifically looking into Mara's purchase of Dudley International House, Nur Jazlan said the committee would be looking into other purchases as well.

"I was informed there are a few other purchases. So we want to look at the whole policy of Mara when it comes to investment in properties overseas.

"We want to check whether the sums that have been reported in the press, of overpayment, are actually true or not," said the Pulai MP.

Mara's property purchases in Melbourne has been under the spotlight when Australian newspapers claimed that Dudley International House was purchased at an inflated price, the excess of which was channelled back to Malaysia as kickbacks for Malaysian officials.

Mara also acquired 746, Swanston Street, 51, Queen Street and 333, Exhibition Street between 2012 and 2013.

PKR parliamentarian Rafizi Ramli had claimed that documents leaked to him showed that the four properties were purchased for a total of AUD117.4 million (RM 339.7 million at current exchange rates, or RM375.4 million in the exchange rates used in the document).

However, Rural and Regional Development Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal has defended the property purchases on the grounds that they were good buys.

Citing valuations performed by property valuers Raine and Horne International, he said Mara had made a paper gain of approximately RM45 million on the four properties.