MACC: Cops handling criminal probe, not us

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the police have different roles to play in the investigations into Datuk Dr Tawfiq Ayman’s involvement in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal, says the MACC.

The commission explained that its role was to repatriate funds, while the police handled the criminal investigation aspect.

“In late 2018, the former Attorney General coordinated investigations between the MACC and the police in relation to the 1MDB case involving Dr Tawfiq, the husband of former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz.

“The MACC’s focus was to identify and recover funds related to the 1MDB case.

“This included a sum of US$15.4mil in the accounts of Cutting Edge Industries Ltd, which belongs to Tawfiq.

“The AGC also instructed the police to focus on the criminal offence related to the alleged transfer of 1MDB-related funds to a Singapore bank account owned by Tawfiq.

“The investigation is still ongoing,” the MACC said in a statement.

It said the division of tasks was to avoid duplication in investigations involving the collection of evidence and testimony of those involved.

“It also makes it easier to deal with Singapore, as the country gives priority to dealing with only one enforcement agency in conducting criminal investigations.

“Therefore, this is not an issue of any enforcement agency failing to detect, investigate or prosecute wrongful financial transactions here, as claimed by some parties,” the MACC said.

The MACC, which has come under criticism over its investigations after some explosive revelations by former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner, had announced on Nov 19 that the US$15.4mil had been successfully repatriated from Singapore.

Leissner, who is testifying in Malaysian Roger Ng’s 1MDB corruption trial in New York, had claimed that Tawfiq received bribes to help facilitate the transfer of US$1bil out of Malaysia.

Ng, who was Goldman’s former head of investment banking in Malaysia, is charged with conspiring to launder money and violating an anti-bribery law, while Leissner is the star witness in the case.