Police detain 3 to probe leak to Sarawak Report

KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysian authorities detained three people over the weekend to determine how information about the ongoing investigation into state investment vehicle 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) had been leaked to a whistleblower website.

Mr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, yesterday said the police were serious about getting to the bottom of the leak, which had led to confidential content being circulated on social media and whistleblower website Sarawak Report.

The website ran what it claimed to be an exclusive on Thursday, with pictures of a purported corruption charge sheet against Prime Minister Najib Razak drafted by former Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, before the latter was surprisingly removed from his post on Tuesday.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), which are part of a multi-agency government task force probing 1MDB, have since rubbished the drafted charges as fake.

1MDB is under investigation by various Malaysian authorities over its debt pile of RM42 billion (S$15 billion) and allegations in Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that US$700 million (S$960 million) had been funnelled into Mr Najib’s personal accounts.

Mr Zahid said the trio were brought in to help determine how the leak had occurred.

The three are Mr Rashpal Singh and Ms Jessica Gurmeet Kaur, who are connected to the MACC, as well as a deputy public prosecutor with the AGC. Mr Rashpal and Ms Jessica were released on Saturday night.

Mr Zahid said the government is taking the leak seriously as information on the 1MDB investigation was being used to tarnish the Prime Minister’s image.

“We take the leak seriously and the police will investigate it professionally. We want to determine how the information was leaked.” AGENCIES