MACC to form special task force to probe offences in 1MDB

KUALA LUMPUR: In light of criticism and public outrage over the astronomical losses of the government's controversial investment arm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said a special task force will be formed to investigate any wrongdoing committed by the management of the company.
The MACC's Anti-Corruption Advisory Board said today that it viewed the allegations and accusations against 1MDB with seriousness as the matter was of public interest.
The independent panel said, following a meeting with MACC's top officials recently it was agreed that the forming of a special task force was warranted to investigate the RM42 billion loss said to be suffered by 1MDB and if its administration had committed offences punishable under the law.
The board said as the probe on 1MDB was a complex task, the team undertaking the investigations, apart from the MACC, should be made up of members of the police, Bank Negara, Securities Commission, the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) and National Audit Department.
With a multi-agency task force, the board said a thorough and comprehensive investigation could be carried out when a report on an ongoing scrutiny by the National Audit Department on 1MDB is revealed end of June.
The board added that should the MACC or any of the agencies in the task force discover there were offences committed by the management of 1MDB in the course of its probe, it should take action on the company under the laws in its respective jurisdictions.
Over the past two months, focus intensified on 1MDB as it sank deeper into controversy with its contradicting reports on the whereabouts of its funds and investments.
This led to further public outrage with even Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhiyiddin Yassin calling on his boss Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak to expel all those entrusted to manage the investment company on Friday.