After Attorney-General’s remarks, 1MDB says clearly no longer under investigation

KUALA LUMPUR — 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) today (Oct 14) said the Attorney-General’s explanation of why the firm was not charged emphasises the fact that it is no longer being investigated.

The firm added that Mr Mohamed Apandi Ali’s press conference absolving 1MDB of breaching exchange laws compounds that of another enforcement agency that said it was not scrutinising the state-owned investment firm.

“This confirmation by the AGC reinforces the statement by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on 22 September 2015 that 1MDB is not under investigation,” it said in a statement today.

It added that Apandi’s summary demonstrated that 1MDB adhered to the pertinent financial laws and confirmed that “no offence had been committed” by the firm.

Yesterday, the AG responded to Bank Negara Malaysia’s revelation that 1MDB violated the Exchange Controls Act (ECA), and pointed out that the central bank did not take any action against the firm over incidents it now said was in breach of the law.

He further noted that BNM had allowed 1MDB’s transactions to proceed despite being informed of deviations from its approval.

Last week, the central bank revoked three approvals for 1MDB to invest US$1.83 billion (RM7.7 billion) abroad due to failures to make mandatory declarations, and ordered it to repatriate the funds.

BNM also added that it had pressed Apandi’s office to prosecute 1MDB for violations.

On September 22, the MACC stated that it was not party to any investigations into 1MDB.

The commission is currently only investigating SRC International, a former subsidiary of the investment firm. MALAY MAIL ONLINE