Abuse of power: MACC widens hunt for crooked officials
Astro Awani
August 17, 2016 10:59 MYT
August 17, 2016 10:59 MYT
MACC Investigations Director Datuk Azam Baki says efforts to track individuals involved in corruption, be it in the public or private sector, is his top priority.
More ranking officials in the public and private sectors will be investigated in the near future, warned the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Its Investigations Director Datuk Azam Baki said, investigations will be carried out thoroughly so that all ill-gotten gains from kickbacks and other corrupt practices are returned to the government.
He stressed that efforts to track individuals involved in corruption, be it in the public or private sector, is MACC's prime mission now.
"I do not rule out the possibility that more actions will be taken against any parties involved in the abuse of power," he said in an exclusive interview with Astro AWANI on Tuesday.
Commenting on the arrest of three high-profile individuals on Monday, Azam said they were being investigated separately and are not related to each other.
"All three cases have nothing to do with each other. Each individual detained and investigated by the MACC is investigated for his own offence. It is not true if there are people who claimed the cases are related.
"The process will continue as what we have said. All the assets believed to have been acquired through criminal process will be frozen by MACC. And we will continue taking action until all these assets are returned to the government," he added.
Azam said the three individuals concerned have committed the alleged corruption since several years back based on investigations into the money and assets they owned.
MACC will also extend the remand period until up to 15 days for all three of them if it failed to obtain evidence for purposes of prosecution.