KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 28): The public should not be so quick to fall for The Wall Street Journal's (WSJ) reports on 1Malaysia Development Berhad's (1MDB) alleged financial irregularities, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.

He said the reports carried by the US-based newspaper were unverified and that the bipartisan Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was scrutinising its claims.

Zahid was responding to WSJ's latest article claiming that a 1MDB unit had sent at least US$850 million (RM3.7 billion) to an offshore entity made to appear controlled by Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co (Ipic).

"Because PAC is studying the details and the authorities are investigating this, we should not fall for the information spread by that media (WSJ).

"We shouldn't make any judgement based on information from unverified sources," Zahid told a press conference at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said he would leave it to the investigating authorities in Malaysia to uncover the truth, adding that the public should trust them to carry out their work professionally.

"And don't rely on information from external sources which we cannot verify."

On Dec 17, WSJ reported that 1MDB had transferred the RM2.7 billion a British Virgin Islands-registered company called "Aabar Investments PJS Ltd", which closely resembles the name of Ipic's wholly owned subsidiary, Aabar Investments PJS.

Quoting people familiar with the matter, the WSJ report said the money had been transferred via three transactions last year, although executives at Ipic and Aabar said neither of the two funds had ever owned or controlled the British Virgin Islands company.

WSJ said records showed that the British Virgin Islands firm had been incorporated on March 14, 2012 and liquidated on June 23, 2015.

1MDB, established in 2009, sits on a RM42 billion debt and is also tied to allegations that some RM2.6 billion was transferred into Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's personal accounts just before the general election in March 2013.

Najib has denied the allegations and threatened legal action against WSJ, which published the expose on July 2. The prime minister has also hit out at his critics.

Najib, who is also chairman of the firm's advisory board, said the RM2.6 billion had been a political donation from an unnamed Middle Eastern benefactor.

1MDB is currently under investigation in at least six countries.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission said its investigations into 1MDB's former subsidiary, SRC International Sdn Bhd, and the donation would be complete by this week.

The investigation papers will be submitted to the attorney-general, along with recommendations on whether the case should be brought to court.