(March 23): Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali has contacted his Swiss counterpart regarding mutual legal assistance (MLA) for a case involving SRC International, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Razali Ibrahim.

Razali said in Parliament today that the request for MLA was not in connection with the RM2.6 billion donation scandal, Malaysiakini reported.

"I can confirm it does not involve the RM2.6 billion... but it is likely about the SRC investigation on the individuals involved.

"The SRC probe on (certain) individuals was halted because we are waiting for an MLA, so I believe it is related to this.

"This is about Swiss accounts that involve certain names that can aid with the investigations," Razali told the Dewan Rakyat, Malaysiakini reported.

Razali said Apandi was awaiting a response from his Swiss counterpart on some queries about the MLA request.

He said this showed that the government was "not protecting anyone".

Asked by Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Puchong) if this meant the AG was considering the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's MLA request to find more evidence in the RM2.6 billion case, Razali replied in the negative.

"The AG has issued a statement... I can't touch on matters in which the attorney-general's chambers stated the case is closed," Razali said, according to Malaysiakini.

SRC International is a former 1MDB subsidiary, which has been accused of transferring RM74 million into the accounts of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Apandi however had cleared Najib of any wrongdoing in this transfer, as well as in the RM2.6 billion donation scandal.

SRC was established by 1MDB in 2011 to explore strategic investment opportunities in the energy sector.

The company secured a RM4 billion government guaranteed loan from Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) [KWAP] in 2012 which was reportedly used for investments in Mongolia, among others.

As for Nik Faisal, a Singapore court had heard that he approved the transfer of US$11.95 million from SRC's coffers to one Eric Tan Kim Loong, which is now said to be an alias for Malaysian businessman Jho Low.

Finance Ministry Incorporated took over control of SRC from 1MDB in late 2012.