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MACC quizzes ex-minister, businessman again, says source
The source however denied that the duo were arrested.
FMT Reporters - 21 May 2023, 5:41pm
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According to the source, who declined to be named, the duo were called in to give their statement.
PETALING JAYA: A former minister and a prominent businessman have been questioned again by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission over the alleged embezzlement of RM2.3 billion, says a source in the know.
According to the source, who declined to be named, the duo were called in to give their statements.
“But no one was arrested. The rumours are not true,” the source told FMT.
The source was commenting on speculation by unverified sources saying that the former minister and businessman had been arrested by the anti-graft agency over the alleged embezzlement.
On Friday, FMT quoted a source as saying that MACC was investigating a former senior minister and a businessman holding the title of “Tan Sri” over the alleged embezzlement of state funds worth RM2.3 billion.
The source said MACC began probing the duo after they were listed among several prominent Malaysians in the leaked Pandora Papers as having links to offshore tax havens.
The source also said the probe centred around the purchase and ownership of a listed company’s shares by a large Malaysian company.
It is believed that the purchase of the shares was orchestrated by the former senior minister.
“The purchase of the shares is believed to have caused a decline in the economy and the weakening of the ringgit in the late 1990s,” the source said.
The source added that the shares had been misappropriated to “bail out certain individuals” and prevent them from suffering losses.
MACC is also looking into transactions linked to the sale of the listed company’s shares, the source said, including assets worth billions of ringgit owned by the former minister, the businessman and their family members, both locally and abroad.
Earlier today, Harian Metro quoted sources as saying that the duo would be called in by MACC once again for questioning.
The daily also reported that the agency had seized several documents related to the sale of shares in the listed company.
Billions in money laundering probe in Malaysia?
MACC’s RM2.3b probe into 1990 money laundering looks like just another publicity image stunt
KUALA LUMPUR, May 19, 2023: After more than 20 years, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MAC) is talking about it in public?
It sure looks like another public image stunt to pull wool over the eyes of Malaysians that it is seriously going after the super mega corrupt.
Does anyone believe in the seriousness of the probe? You and time be the judge?
Perhaps we will read about this again, 20 years after!
Now News Is Bad News reproduces the Free Malaysia Today (FMT) report published today:
MACC probes ex-senior minister, businessman over RM2.3bil state funds
The investigation also covers billions in assets allegedly owned by the duo and their family members both in and outside Malaysia.
FMT Reporters - 19 May 2023, 12:49pm
A source says the MACC investigation is linked to the purchase and ownership of shares in a major listed company said to have been orchestrated by the former senior minister.
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has opened several investigation papers against a former senior minister and a businessman with a “Tan Sri” title in relation to the embezzlement of state funds worth more than RM2.3 billion.
A source said the investigation comes following the disclosure of confidential documents by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) regarding transactions suspected to have been carried out in several offshore financial centres.
“The focus of the investigation is in relation to the purchase and ownership of shares in a listed company by a national giant that is said to be orchestrated by this former senior minister,” said the source.
“It is also understood that the purchase and ownership of these shares is believed to be the cause of the national economy’s decline and the fall of the ringgit in the late 1990s.”
The source said the shares had been misappropriated to “bail out” the individuals involved and to save them from suffering worse losses.
The MACC’s investigation is also focused on transactions resulting from the sale of shares of the listed company, the source said.
The investigation also covers the ownership of billions of ringgit worth of assets both within Malaysia and abroad owned by the businessman, the former senior minister, and their family members.
The source said MACC had recorded statements from 14 witnesses in the past few weeks regarding this investigation.
This includes testimony from business figures and former senior ministers related to the confidential documents revealed by the Pandora Papers.
When contacted, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki confirmed the matter and said the case is being investigated under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009, which sets out the offence of using one’s office or position for gratification.
The case is also being investigated for money laundering under Section 4(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Amla).
The Pandora Papers refer to the millions of leaked documents put together by an international consortium of investigative journalists and made public in October 2021 that allegedly reveal offshore accounts of present and past leaders, including presidents, prime ministers, billionaires and prominent business people.
The data leak is the biggest of its kind and involves nearly 12 million documents and other records from offshore service providers who help set up and manage shell companies around the world.
The Malaysians who have been linked to it include former finance ministers Daim Zainuddin and Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, PKR’s Selayang MP William Leong, as well as parents of fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low. - FMT
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