Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on May 23, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: The scale and complexity of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal make it seem like a twisted plot straight out of Hollywood, but one of its long-time Malaysian investigators has revealed that it is indeed a true story.

Datuk Seri Mohd Shukri Abdull, newly appointed chief of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said that most of the commission’s findings are consistent and “almost identical” with the report issued by US Department of Justice (DoJ).

This would include allegations of funds being transferred into the personal accounts of Datuk Seri Najib Razak, former prime minister and chairman of 1MDB, he told reporters at a media briefing yesterday.

“The RM2.6 billion was not made up. This is a true story!” Mohd Shukri said, adding that the case is too big to be kept undercover.

SRC International Sdn Bhd (SRCI) was created in 2011 to pursue overseas investments in energy resources, and was a unit of 1MDB until it was moved to the finance ministry in 2012.

Meanwhile, the RM2.6 billion case involving Najib’s bank account will be investigated by the Council of Eminent Persons’ 1MDB task force, of which Mohd Shukri and his predecessor Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed are members.

The monies were allegedly siphoned from 1MDB, a claim that Najib, who was questioned yesterday by the MACC, has since denied.

On May 17, Mohd Shukri was appointed to replace Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad, who had chosen to terminate his contract as MACC chief commissioner three years ahead of its July 2021 expiry.

Mohd Shukri also revealed that the “questionable prince in Saudi Arabia”, to whom MACC investigators had been introduced, had no supporting documents to show he had donated RM2.6 billion to Najib.

“We needed a mutual legal assistance (MLA) from the Attorney-General (AG) to pursue and find out whether the claim was true, but he refused to [authorise it for us],” he added.

“It made it easier for people to understand what the RM2.6 billion was about. It seemed like it was made up. Who would give RM2.6 billion away?

“If it was RM2.6 million [that was] given it might still be believable. But RM2.6 billion — I cannot believe there is a leader in the world who could find someone so generous as to give them that. It was too big,” he quipped.

Mohd Shukri explained that an MLA — authorised by the AG — is required by the MACC to record statements from non-Malaysians overseas, among others.

According to Mohd Shukri, the MACC had obtained the bulk of domestic evidence tied to investigations on SRCI and allegations of RM2.6 billion funnelled into Najib’s account, immediately before the cases were closed under the instruction of the then AG Tan Sri Apandi Ali in 2015.

“With the new AG, we can now try our best to send [the] MLA to them,” Mohd Shukri said.

However, he acknowledged that the agency had experienced difficulties in dealing with Arab countries.

“We had no problem with the US, Luxenbourg, Swiss authorities ... But we have had difficulties dealing with Arab countries [such as] Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE (United Arab Emirates),” he added.

Apandi had previously rejected requests from Swiss and American authorities for MLAs regarding their probes into 1MDB. He had been told to take leave after the change in government following the 14th general election that saw Pakatan Harapan, led by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, defeat the Barisan Nasional.

The Solicitor-General Datuk Engku Nor Faizah Engku Atek has taken over the AG’s duties.

The 1MDB special task force will be led by Mohd Shukri, Abu Kassim, former AG Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail and former Special Branch deputy director Datuk Abdul Hamid Bador. Other members include representatives from MACC, the AG’s Chambers, the Royal Malaysian Police and Bank Negara Malaysia, along with several lawyers.

The focus of the special task force is on the asset recovery to bring back all the money and asset revenue from the 1MDB case offence.

The special task force met for the first time at MACC headquarters yesterday.

The newly set up special task force is expected to hold a meeting today to decide further action needed to be taken involving the case.

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