KUALA LUMPUR: The holders of bank accounts that were frozen by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) have been urged to voluntarily return the monies belonging to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) if they do not want legal action, property seizures or suits to be initiated against them.
MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Shukri Abdull said the funds from 1MDB which flowed into these frozen accounts were considered to be ‘illegal money’ which needed to be returned.
“(In reference to) all the accounts which we believed had received funding from 1MDD, the MACC has taken action by freezing (those accounts). We ask the account holders, including the accounts owned by individuals, political parties or associations to come forward and meet with the MACC if there are any problems.
“We ask them to come forward and hand over the 1MDB money voluntarily. If they fail to do so, legal action can be taken (against them),” Shukri told a press conference after launching a book titled ‘Corruption and Crime in Malaysia, Perception or Reality’ written by Transparency International Malaysia president Datuk Akhbar Satar at the Gerakbudaya Bookstore in Section 11, Petaling Jaya near here.
When asked on the type of legal action that could be taken against account holders who did not abide by MACC’s directive, Shukri said that the Special Task Force will move to take action to strip them of their assets and initiate a summons.
He said the commission will ensure that all 1MDB monies that flowed into any account will be returned by using all the evidence and information available to them.
Shukri said there was a possibility that the number of accounts frozen in the ongoing 1MDB investigation would increase.
In explaining the fact that the commission did not issue any notice to the holders of the accounts before they were frozen, Shukri said there was no need to do so because that would be similar to give advance warning for them to ‘clean-up’ their respective accounts.
The New Straits Times Press reported that 408 bank accounts with funds totalling RM1.1 billion have been frozen by the Special Task Force investigating the 1MDB case.
The 1MDB Special Task Force through its statement yesterday (Monday) said the freezing of the accounts was conducted between June 26 to 29 involving accounts belonging to individuals, political parties and non-governmental organisations.