PUTRAJAYA: A shadowy “corporate mafia” operating through legitimate business structures is fuelling a complex web of organised crime in Malaysia, says Tan Sri Azam Baki.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner said these syndicates do not operate openly, but instead, exploit corporate frameworks to evade enforcement, backed by networks of professionals.
“We are no longer dealing with ordinary crime, but an organised criminal ecosystem driven by what I describe as a corporate mafia,” he said during the Multi-Agency Task Force: Way Forward engagement session at the MACC headquarters here yesterday.
Azam said such groups use accountants, lawyers, consultants and insiders within certain agencies to shield illegal activities, manipulate corporate structures and launder illicit funds.
“They exploit systems to ensure these crimes continue undetected,” he added.
He said corporate crime includes fraud, corruption, abuse of power, share manipulation, investor deception and tax evasion, stressing that enforcement agencies must work together to tackle the issue.
“This requires coordinated action among MACC, the police and the Inland Revenue Board,” he said.
In a separate development, Azam declined to comment on claims that his service contract will not be renewed.
“No comment. I have already said that I will not respond to that issue,” he said after the event.
Earlier, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was reported as saying that no decision has been made on Azam’s contract, which expires May 12.
A Singapore-based news agency had claimed that his contract will not be extended, citing unnamed high-level sources, and that the government was facing pressure over investigations into his shareholdings.
Bloomberg previously reported that Azam held millions of shares in a financial services company based on corporate filings.
However, Azam has maintained that his shareholding, valued at RM800,000, was acquired transparently and in accordance with procedures.
Separately, commenting on the status of investigations involving Chai Jin Shern, better known as James Chai, a former aide to Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli, Azam said MACC is still awaiting a response from him.
Earlier reports said Chai had been given two weeks to return to Malaysia to assist in a probe involving Arm Holdings, with MACC offering to cover his travel expenses.
Failing that, the agency may seek assistance from international enforcement bodies, including Interpol, to ensure his return.
