KUALA LANGAT: The 41 alleged recipients of the RM270 million 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) money have been advised to stop making press releases and comments in the media.
Instead, they should only file affidavits to be used as evidence in court, said newly-minted Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Latheefa Koya.
“A civil action report requires those who have been affected as respondents, to file affidavits of their answers and then we leave it to the court to go through the process.
“There’s no point in making comments publicly through the media because all those comments need to be reduced to a sworn affidavit and only then it will be used as evidence in court,” she told a press conference in Banting here today.
Latheefa was commenting on MACC’s civil forfeiture applications filed on June 19 against 41 individuals and entities to recover money allegedly transferred from 1MDB.
On Saturday, Jakel Trading and Jakel Trading Sdn Bhd, who was named as one of the 41 recipients, released a statement saying that it was not involved in the 1MDB scandal.
A day before, Naza Group and Habib Jewels too released press statements, pledging to cooperate with the MACC on the civil forfeiture suits.
On certain quarters questioning why there were only 41 recipients named instead of the 408 as reported earlier, Latheefa said the anti-graft agency had never said that was the only list.
On July 3, 2018, MACC had said there were 408 names on their list of people and organisations who received money from 1MDB.
“We have listed out the 41 entities and individuals but we never said that was the final list. So there is no need to jump to conclusions,” she said.
The RM270 million was said to have been transferred to the 41 recipients from former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s personal Ambank account.
According to MACC, the forfeitures were filed under Section 56 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.