Thursday, July 9, 2015

Auditor-General presents interim 1MDB audit report to PAC

The Auditor-General (A-G) has presented its initial findings on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

Tan Sri Ambrin Buang presented the interim audit report to PAC chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed in the Parliament building Thursday morning.

A briefing will be given to members of the PAC, after which they are free to ask questions.

The meeting is expected to last until 4pm, with a possibility of it continuing on Friday if there is not enough time for questions.

Last Thursday, Nur Jazlan said that the bi-partisan committee would ask the A-G the scope of the audit, whether it was limited or restricted and if witnesses were co-operative.

Nur Jazlan also previously said that all information provided would be used when questioning 1MDB chief executives and board of directors early next month.

He also said that it was up to the A-G whether the interim report's findings would be revealed to Members of Parliament and the public.

A more comprehensive report is expected later in the year.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an article last week quoting an "unnamed investigator", claiming that almost US$700mil (RM2.63bil) of 1MDB funds went into Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's personal accounts.

The Prime Minister's Office responded by saying that the articles were "political sabotage" while the 1MDB insisted that no funds had been transferred to Najib's accounts.

Najib has also refuted the claims, maintaining that the allegations are a ploy engineered by his opponents in an attempt to topple him, among them former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The office of 1MDB was also raided by police on Wednesday.

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