For those culprits involved in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal, they have probably been quaking in their shoes ever since the investigations in the alleged graft has escalated. In one of the most recent updates, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said that they have frozen about 900 bank accounts linked to 1MDB. Whoa, that’s a lot!
Source: Today Online
According to an exclusive report by NST, highly-placed sources in MACC informed them that these accounts are believed to have benefited from 1MDB’s dubious dealings. “Those who would have discovered over the past few days that they no longer had access to their accounts are scores of individuals who investigators believe had benefited from 1MDB,” the sources said.
Umno’s main account was one of the frozen bank accounts and Umno presidential candidate Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that he knew about this after MACC called him. Sinar Harian reports that several other Umno accounts are possibly in the list as well including Umno Johor and Penang.
Source: NST
Zahid added, “There is no guarantee that the Umno president, deputy president, vice-presidents and Supreme Council members who win in this election would not be investigated (by MACC) because we are no longer the government. This includes former menteris besar.” Does that mean that if you’re in the government and you did something wrong then no investigation is necessary?
“As the acting president, I will do my utmost to prove that Umno’s money is from legitimate sources. Umno does not dabble in money laundering. As long as I lead the party, I will never allow anyone to threaten or discriminate against Umno. Umno members must stand united to ensure the party withstands efforts to paralyse it,” he said.
Source: Twitter
However, he said that Umno will cooperate fully with MACC over the frozen accounts. Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, another Umno presidential candidate says that he hopes MACC is acting fairly towards the political party and not doing so as part of an effort to deregister Umno.
Malaysiakini reports that the 1MDB special taskforce said that they are behaving fairly and professionally in the investigations and confirmed that the bank accounts have been frozen. They added, “All parties are asked to give the authorities space to carry out the investigation process, and (are asked) not to speculate and sensationalise the case, as it is feared this may jeopardise investigations.”
With so many accounts frozen, it looks like there are more people who benefited from 1MDB than we know!
Also read: Wall Street Journal: Rosmah is the Mastermind Behind the Controversial 1MDB Scandal
