MALAYSIAN Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki said more than 70% of 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s (1MDB) assets and funds, equivalent to about RM28.93 billion, have been successfully recovered so far.

“As for the 30% balance, we want to recover as much as possible of this. Asset-tracing is still ongoing including in several places abroad,” he said, adding that the commission is one of the main agencies involved in recovering all 1MDB’s assets and funds.

Azam said MACC also played a role in the successful recovery of RM8.06 billion involving the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).

On February 27, it was reported that the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc) and 1MDB had reached a settlement on their dispute with IPIC and Aabar Investments PJS (Aabar PJS) pertaining to legal proceedings at the London Court of International Arbitration and the London High Court.

In this regard, IPIC and Aabar PJS from Abu Dhabi had agreed to pay US$1.8 billion (RM8.06 billion) to MOF Inc and 1MDB.

In another development, Azam said MACC has established a forensics unit to study the suspected elements of corruption and embezzlement involving RM157 million losses suffered by Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Holdings Sdn Bhd.

He said the matter is still under investigation, taking into account all aspects so that the investigation will be fair to all parties.

“We will announce the findings of the investigation once it is ready,” he said.

A report titled “UiTM Holdings loses RM157 million” claimed that the total loss is based on the calculation of accumulated pretax losses for four years – 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021.

UiTM Holdings is an investment holding company wholly owned by UiTM that manages eight energy-related companies, healthcare, technology and creative.

Earlier, Azam attended the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) involving the MACC, UiTM and the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) in Putrajaya.

In his speech, he said the MOU will enable integrated action to be taken in improving the enforcement and effectiveness of existing regulations towards better governance.

He also said the MOU between MACC and UiTM covers cooperation in the aspect of negotiation services, development of training modules, awareness programmes and anti-corruption education. 

The cooperation with MIA covers information-sharing activities and expertise as well as technical investigations in the field of accounting and finance to combat corruption, misuse of power and money-laundering. – Bernama, March 7, 2023.