MACC claims ‘criminal conspiracy at highest level’ implicating Najib, Rosmah (updated)

PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has revealed a series of nine audio recordings of high-ranking officials, including former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife, alleging this was a "criminal conspiracy at the highest level".

The recordings are said to have taken place between Jan 5,2016, and July 29,2016.

The MACC said it received them anonymously just after New Year's Day.

Its chief Latheefa Koya said after verifying the recordings, the MACC was confident of the documents' "absolute authenticity".

The media, she said, was the first to hear the audio conversations.

"This is of public interest and affects national security. From our own expertise, we can see it has elements of power abuse, fabrication of evidence and leaking of information protected under the Official Secrets Act.

"This is shocking as there are attempts at cover-ups and a subversion of justice," she said at a press conference on Wednesday (Jan 8).

Among other individuals which MACC identified in the audio recordings were former MACC chief Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad, Najib's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, former Tabung Haji chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, and Najib's former principal private secretary Tan Sri Shukry Mohd Salleh.

One of the conversations that was played was allegedly between Dzulkifli, who was then a prosecutor at the Attorney General's Chambers with Najib.

Another one, MACC alleged, was of Rosmah and Najib, where she was heard expressing her displeasure over a certain matter related to MACC investigations.

There was also one said to be a conversation between Najib and someone from the UAE, where Najib made a special request to draw up a loan agreement for his step son Riza Aziz for the production of the movie The Wolf of Wall Street.

Latheefa said the audio recordings would be handed over to the police as most of the offences fell under the Penal Code.

She said information that emerged from the recordings was a new set of offences that is different from those Najib faced in his ongoing trial.