Pecial ta kforce probe money trail
Documents taken from three companies
PETALING JAYA: Armed with freshly seized documents, a special multitaskforce is probing the 1Malaysia Development Bhd ( 1MDB) money trail, which allegedly ended in the Prime Minister’s personal bank accounts.
Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail (picture at right) said the taskforce comprising officers from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Bank Negara and the police was going through documents taken from the premises of SRC International Sdn Bhd, Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd and Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) had named the three companies in its report on July 2, claiming that US$700mil (RM2.6bil) was funnelled into what it believed to be Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s bank accounts.
“After reviewing and analysing the documents retrieved during the raids, I have adviced the taskforce on the next course of action,” Abdul Gani said in a statement yesterday.
The taskforce moved into action barely 24 hours after the WSJ report.
The Attorney-General said the investigations would be focused on all aspects raised.
“With the participation of various agencies, I am confident of professional and in-depth investigations. I hope all parties will extend their cooperation to enable the special taskforce to proceed with the investigation without issuing statements that can confuse the public,” he added.
WSJ earlier stated that it stood by its report. Its Hong Kong bureau chief Ken Brown said that WSJ had been very careful with the report given that it involved a country’s leader.
“We are very careful and we believe the investigation and documents we have are solid and come from reliable investigation and not a political investigation,” said Brown in an interview with CNBC.
He claimed that the documents possessed by the publication had been shared with the Attorney-General and had also been seen by the Prime Minister.
WSJ had earlier said that the report was published based on information from Malaysian investigators.
Auditor-General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang denied leaking any information to WSJ and Sarawak Report.
“The investigators mentioned in the report certainly did not come from the Auditor-General’s office. It has nothing to do with us,” he said.