Probe panel getting details on declassified 1MDB report

KUALA LUMPUR: The special committee on 1Malaysia Development Bhd has sought further clarification on the recently declassified 1MDB Audit Report, said Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman (pic).

The former attorney general said the committee has met with representatives from the Finance Ministry, Securities Commission and National Audit Department.

“The Audit Department explained the 1MDB report to us,” he told reporters after chairing the meeting at Ilham Tower yesterday.

Asked how long the committee would take before the investigation could be wrapped up, the former attorney general replied: “God knows how long.”

He added that the duration of the committee’s investigation would depend on the complexity of the case, and that the committee merely played a coordinating role to prevent overlapping in investigation.

The 1MDB committee was set up by the Council of Eminent Persons on May 17.

Other members of the committee include PricewaterhouseCoopers partner in risk assurance Nik Shahrizal Sulaiman, Naqiz & Partners senior partner Syed Naqiz Shahbuddin Syed Abdul Jabbar, Otoritas Jasa Keuangan Indonesia (the Indonesian financial services authority) senior adviser Faris Rabidin and Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism founder Cynthia Gabriel.

On May 15, Auditor-General Tan Sri Dr Madinah Mohamad announced that the 1MDB audit report was reclassified as an open document.

The report was classified as secret on Jan 22, 2016, and was presented to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on March 4, 2016.

Besides the special committee on 1MDB, a special task force headed by former attorney general Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail was also set up on May 21 to investigate 1MDB and recover assets abroad.