Crime & Courts

MACC wants to meet Raja Petra over Zahid's LCS kickback claims

PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is looking forward to meeting a "whistleblower" over allegations that Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had received RM66 million in kickbacks to procure the littoral combat ship (LCS) project.

The so-called whistleblower, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, in a six-minute video yesterday, claimed to have substantial evidence of the transactions made to Zahid between 2012 and 2013.

MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, in a reply to the New Straits Times today, said the agency was willing to meet Raja Petra at his preferred location outside the country to obtain information and documents related to the claim.

Raja Petra, in the video posted on his blog Malaysia Today, claimed that the Umno president had received the funds in Singaporean dollars amounting to S$20 million before it was converted through currency exchange in eight separate transactions.

He accused Zahid of corruption, abuse of power and money laundering in relation to the procurement of the LCS project while he served as minister.

"MACC is ready to send our officers to examine what evidence he has. We look forward to a meeting with him at any place which is appropriate for both parties," said Azam.

In the video, Raja Petra also suggested that the meeting could be held in London or Manchester in England, or in any other foreign city such as Bangkok, Dubai, Rome or even Paris.

Raja Petra had also claimed that the large transactions had not been recorded by the moneychangers and had gone through at least five layers before it reached Zahid.

This, he said, was mainly to avoid the money from being traced back to its source.

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