Surprise move in PAS probe

Giving his side of the story: Takiyuddin speaking to reporters after giving his statement to MACC in Putrajaya.

PUTRAJAYA: Despite declaring that no funds from 1Malaysia Develop­ment Bhd (1MDB) were channelled into PAS party accounts, graftbusters have taken their investigation to the next level by seizing the assets and freezing the bank accounts of several leaders.

Sources said this was done in the past few days but they declined to reveal which PAS leaders had their luxury cars seized and bank accounts frozen.

Among the vehicles Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers reportedly confiscated were a Toyota Vellfire, Range Rover and Mini Cooper.

The MACC also questioned PAS secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan yesterday although he de­­nied media reports that he had been summoned by the commission.

“I was not summoned by the MACC, I went on my own accord. I decided to voluntarily give my side of the story in the investigation on PAS pertaining to the RM90mil (in alleged 1MDB funds),” he said.

However, an MACC source said: “Yes, we spoke to the PAS secretary-­general and more will be interviewed.”

On Feb 24, the MACC confirmed that it had yet to find any 1MDB funds in PAS official bank accounts.

As investigators conduct further probes into the RM90mil in 1MDB funds that PAS allegedly received from Umno, the party has asked its leaders to fully cooperate with investigators.

Takiyuddin said their cooperation was needed to complete the investigation, adding those expected to be called were individuals whose names were mentioned in the defence statement by Sarawak Report’s Clare Rewcastle Brown in the lawsuit filed by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

“I will talk to them and get them to cooperate with MACC officers. I believe there are about 10 names,” Takiyuddin said when met at the MACC headquarters after spending more than four hours giving his statement yesterday.

He said he was asked to explain allegations that he owned a fleet of luxury cars, a luxury motorcycle, and a special licence plate.

“I was asked to answer the allegations and just on that.

“They did not ask for any documents, not even of my personal accounts,” he said.

He did not mention who was named by Rewcastle Brown, but do­cuments sighted contained the names of Kelantan Deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah, PAS spiritual leader Hashim Jasim and information chief Khairuddin Aman Razali, among others.

Hadi had opted for an out-of-court settlement with Rewcastle Brown, whom he had sued for libel over an article she published on Aug 6, 2016, alleging that the party received RM90mil in bribes from Umno.

She filed a counterclaim in October 2017 but on Feb 1 this year, the case was settled out of court with PAS citing the high cost of legal fees as one reason why it opted for the settlement.

The 2016 article in the Sarawak Report news portal claimed that Umno had allegedly paid a total of RM90mil to PAS leaders to secure their support, and that the money could have come from 1MDB.