MACC to seek clarification over Middle East donations
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysia Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) will ask Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (pic) to shed light on the donations received from the Middle East.
In a statement on Wednesday, the MACC maintained that that the RM2.6bil was not from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and that it had come from a donor in the Middle East.
"There are many parties who are confused or unclear after our statement on Aug 3.
"Following this, we discussed with the Attorney-General (AG) who requested that we clear the air over the donation to the commission," it said.
The commission added that it had tracked down and taken statements from the donor who is from the Middle East.
"We got to know the donor's information from bank documents and letters sent to the Prime Minister when large sums were deposited into his account.
"We spoke to the donor and they have also confirmed that it was a donation," it said stressing again that the RM2.6bil was not from 1MDB.
The MACC added that the investigation into 1MDB's former subsidiary SRC International was still ongoing.
"There are two issues being investigated, the RM2.6bil into the Prime Minister's account and the RM4bil involving SRC.
"The investigations into the RM4bil is still ongoing and that we would like to stress that we did not say the investigation is closed. Only that the RM2.6bil is not from 1MDB," it said.
The commission also explained the reason behind releasing the Aug 3 statement without involving the police or Bank Negara, the two other members of the special task force.
"We did so after being advised to do so by the AG.
"All the agencies can continue to work on the issue based on their own laws," it said.
On Aug 3, the MACC stated that the RM2.6bil deposited into Najib's account had come from a donor and not from 1MDB.
The commission added that MACC’s investigations only focused on issues related to 1MDB's former subsidiary SRC International and RM2.6bil in Najib's personal account.
It said that the police were carrying out investigations related to 1MDB while Bank Negara is focused on probing financial procedures.
The MACC also urged the public to refrain from speculating until investigations are complete.
