MACC rejects Bloomberg claims.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said today that chief commissioner Azam Baki’s shareholdings in a financial services company were properly declared to the Public Service Department, dismissing claims raised in a Bloomberg report.
In a statement, the commission described the report as containing “misleading statements and unfounded allegations”.
“The chief commissioner of MACC has fully complied with the applicable asset declaration requirements, including declarations made via the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) to the Public Service Department (PSD) in respect of sources of income as well as the acquisition and disposal of assets, including shares.
“Any portrayal suggesting a failure to declare assets is factually incorrect and creates a misleading impression of the integrity and governance framework governing MACC and the public service, thereby unfairly and detrimentally reflecting on the commission as a law enforcement agency,” it said.
Azam was also quoted by the New Straits Times as saying he is considering legal action against reports questioning the transaction, describing them as malicious, misleading and defamatory.
He said the shares were purchased and disposed of within the same year and that the matter was “all transparent” as it had been declared through the HRMIS.
Bloomberg reported earlier that Azam owns 17.7 million shares in Velocity Capital Partner Berhad, equivalent to about a 1.7 percent stake. Malaysiakini verified the information with records from the Companies Commission of Malaysia, based on company documents registered on Dec 26 last year.
Share prices last year ranged between RM0.015 and RM0.065 per share, placing the value of the holdings between RM265,500 and RM1,150,500 at the time. This exceeds the RM100,000 limit imposed on civil servants for share purchases in a single company.
Azam’s shareholdings have previously attracted scrutiny. In late 2021, questions were raised over his ownership of 1.93 million shares in Gets Global Berhad, formerly KBES Berhad, valued at about RM772,000 on April 30, 2015. His stake fell to 1,029,500 shares by March 31, 2016, worth around RM340,000.
He also held 2.156 million warrants in Excel Force MSC Berhad in March 2016, when the RM100,000 share purchase limit for civil servants was already in force.