This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on March 6, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) chief commissioner Latheefa Koya has directed her officers to investigate how former federal territories minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor managed to accumulate close to RM800 million in wealth.

Meanwhile, Latheefa said she has no comment to make when asked about the talk that she has resigned as MACC chief commissioner.

“I am here for the court case. No comment on that. But I can [comment] on the investigations on Ku Nan,” she told the media.

Latheefa said yesterday the revelation of Tengku Adnan’s wealth a day earlier during his graft trial in the High Court is a “serious” matter.

“I have directed that investigations be started,” she told reporters when met at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex.

“Our investigations are not on the revelation of his assets but how he got the assets.”

This is despite Tengku Adnan, better known as Ku Nan, telling the court yesterday (Thursday) that he had made several declarations about his assets to the prime ministers he had served under.

The Putrajaya member of Parliament was a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in 2001 during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s first tenure as premier, and served as the culture and tourism minister before being appointed as federal territories minister during Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s time as prime minister.

Latheefa was asked to comment on the revelations made in court on Wednesday about Tengku Adnan’s wealth.

The former minister had sought to reveal his wealth in camera (without members of the public and journalists observing the proceedings) but Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan ordered him to disclose his wealth in open court.

The Umno treasurer’s assets as declared to the various prime ministers were RM938.64 million in 2001, RM711.33 million in 2006, RM691.77 million in 2013 and RM782.75 million in 2016.

Yesterday, the former minister told the court he had owned Mutiara Telecommunications Bhd (now Digi.com Bhd) shares worth RM480 million, and holds a 15% stake in a Hyundai franchisee (now Sime Darby Hyundai Sdn Bhd) and controls his family-owned Tadmansori Holdings Sdn Bhd.

He denied not declaring the assets to the prime minister or violating the Code of Ethics for Members of the Administration.

He said this during re-examination in corruption case where he is accused of accepting RM2 million from businessman Tan Sri Chai Kin Kong.