KUALA LUMPUR: 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has come out to say that none of its employees are under remand, after local media reported that an unidentified company director has been detained by the special task force investigating the troubled strategic development company's funds.

In a short statement yesterday, 1MDB said it noted media reports regarding an individual remanded by a magistrate’s court in connection with the ongoing investigations by the special task force.

“No 1MDB employees are under remand,” it said, adding that it reiterated its commitment to cooperate in the ongoing investigations.

The special task force investigating the allegations of funds transmitted to the accounts of the prime minister comprises the Attorney General, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Royal Malaysian Police and Bank Negara Malaysia.

The Malaysian Insider yesterday quoted the MACC as saying that a construction and property development company director arrested by the special task force has been remanded for four days by the Putrajaya magistrate’s court.

A statement by the anti-graft body confirmed the arrest of the 39-year-old director on Monday.

Umno-linked lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who represents the man, told The Star Online that his client had been remanded for four days due to “national interest”.

“They asked for seven days but the magistrate allowed for four days only,” he was quoted as saying by the news portal.

Sources at the investigating authorities told The Malaysian Insider that the man’s company had dealings with SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.

The company director was detained at 1pm on Monday at the KL International Airport in Sepang where he was to have boarded a flight to Taiwan.

The man was stopped by Immigration Department officers before being handed over to the MACC to be investigated for bribery.

The man’s name is said to be on a list of individuals being monitored by the authorities, who were alerted to his attempt to leave the country, sources said.

SRC International was a subsidiary of 1MDB until it was placed under the finance ministry in February 2012.

It had also taken a government-backed loan of RM4 billion from Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan).

Opposition politicians have called for greater accountability over SRC International, saying Putrajaya has not been transparent about the company’s exact business.

SRC International was named by The Wall Street Journal in its July 2 exposé as one of the 1MDB-linked companies that were part of the trail of funds that allegedly went into Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's personal bank accounts.

Another source said the suspect arrested is being investigated under Section 17 of the MACC Act 2009, but it is not clear yet whether the probe will focus on the taking or giving of bribes.

The penalty is a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on July 22, 2015.