FORMER attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali is not beyond any investigations if there are reports lodged against him, Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said today.

This, he said, applies to everyone, not only the former A-G.

Apandi’s contract as the A-G was terminated today, three weeks after he was told to go on leave by the new Pakatan Harapan government. He was replaced by Tommy Thomas, a candidate picked by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Muhyiddin was asked by reporters if there would be any action taken against Apandi for closing one eye over the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal and absolving former prime minister Najib Razak of any wrongdoing.

“The Home Ministry will have to see if there are any reports lodged (against Apandi).

“If there is a report, it will not matter if he was the former A-G. We have to first ascertain that there is a prima facie case against him,” Muhyiddin said after visiting the Immigration Department in Putrajaya this morning.

Apandi had cleared Najib of any wrongdoing in the 1MDB scandal despite investigations being carried out against the state investor by authorities in at least six countries.

The former A-G was also accused by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Swiss Attorney-General of not cooperating with them in their investigations into the 1MDB scandal.

In a recent meeting between the 1MDB Special Investigation Task Force in Putrajaya, officials from the DoJ and FBI had confirmed having made a request for MLA (mutual legal assistance) to Apandi on September 22 last year.

It was reported that the request was postponed on grounds that it would disturb ongoing investigations by Malaysian authorities. 

The US authorities had said that a request was also made by the FBI on November 13, 2016, to then MACC chief Dzulkifli Ahmad, but they had yet to receive any response.

It was reported that Apandi has been barred from leaving the country while the new PH government investigates various allegations of money-laundering and abuse of power by the previous administration. – June 5, 2018.