PETALING JAYA: If possible, I want to bankrupt the criminals who have raided public coffers, says Tan Sri Azam Baki.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner, speaking on the MACC podcast, said that asset recovery is not a linear matter.
"Stolen monies and profits from crimes such as fraud, scams, and illegal activities like narcotics and the like, are actually the people's monies. If they steal the money, we will 'steal' it back.
"I have said before, if possible I want to bankrupt these criminals.
"Previously I stated the target is to (recover) RM10bil but this is for all agencies so do not just rely on the MACC. We are not revenue collectors but we want to seize back this stolen monies," he said.
He also noted that state directors must be aware of the current issues and risks of graft in their particular states while working smarter to combat such corruption.
"Let's use Kelantan; the issues there involve the border and the theft of national minerals and our forests. These are the causes of leakages in Kelantan.
"You need to work smart and if you just do normal routine work like catching people off the street then we are not being effective," he said.
On allegations that MACC are only going after the receivers of bribes and not the givers, he said that was not the case.
"Lately in the case of Datuk Albert Tei and Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, we charged both the giver and the receiver.
"Most of those charged are the receivers because they push and create such a stressful environment for others, forcing them to give bribes under duress. If you don't give, you're finished," he said.
On the current fight against graft, he said that investigations must be proactive and prior intelligence gathering is imperative.
"Data collection such as money data especially those involving financial crimes must be done in detail before investigations even begin. In this day and age, most suspects will not put the money into their personal bank accounts, they will use proxies, move the money overseas or use cryptocurrency.
"Finding this out is the duty of those doing intelligence gathering," he said.
Regarding his potential replacement upon retirement, he said that he wished it would be someone within the MACC.
"I pray to God that it is also a fellow MACC person who replaces me.
"We understand the agency better but if our personnel do not prepare by readying themselves with knowledge, the people outside will look at us the wrong way," he said.
