(July 27): The 28-year-old sole owner of a trading company, Ariffin Ismail Shahul Hameed, was released on RM50,000 bail today after spending four days in remand to facilitate investigations into the debt-ridden state investment arm 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

Ariffin was detained on Friday under Section 16(a) of the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission Act for alleged bribery.

He was the third person picked up by the special task force in its investigation into 1MDB and other related companies like SRC International.

Magistrate Nik Isfahanie Tasnim Wan Ab Rahman granted Ariffin with RM50,000 bail in two sureties.

Ariffin who arrived at the Putrajaya magistrates’ court at 8.30am was not represented by legal counsel.

The fourth person detained by MACC in the 1MDB probe, managing director of a construction and development company Datuk Rosman Abdullah’s remand order ends tomorrow.

Rosman was remanded for four days on Saturday while a fifth individual, 27-year-old despatch rider, Tazri Talib, was remanded the next day.

Tazri was picked up at his family home in Bentong, Pahang, at 6.30pm on Saturday.

The special task force in charge of investigations into the 1MDB case made their first arrest last Monday when they picked up Jerome Lee, 39, group executive director of construction firm Putrajaya Perdana Berhad.

Lee had been previously employed as an investment director with 1MDB.

A day later, another individual was detained. This time it was Datuk Shamsul Anwar Sulaiman of Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd followed by Ariffin's arrest the next day, and Rosman and Tazri the following days.

Shamsul and Lee were released on RM100,000 bail in two sureties and Ariffin on RM50,000 bail also in two sureties while two others are still in MACC custody. – The Malaysian Insider