Shattered reputation: Cost of MACC's IJM probe

 

• The MACC says it is investigating an alleged RM2.5 billion money-laundering scheme involving IJM Corporation Berhad.

  It is learnt that the MACC is also probing suspected manipulation of the company's share price. When contacted, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki confirmed that an investigation into the company is underway.

  The probe follows an investigation by the United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into suspected money laundering and corruption.

  The Star, Jan 19, 2026

• The MACC is collaborating with the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in an ongoing investigation involving IJM Corporation Bhd over financial transactions and overseas investments amounting to approximately RM2.5 billion.

  (Then) MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said both agencies are working closely together and are required to follow specific procedures in the process of gathering information and evidence.

  “I don’t think it should be a problem because both agencies have their own mandates in investigating the case. So we need to ensure that the cooperation benefits both sides.

  “So, we’re in the midst of exchanging information now, not yet evidence. My officers are currently communicating with the SFO,” he said in a special interview with several media organisations.

  The Edge, Feb 18, 2026

These excerpts, published 30 days apart, repeated in between, quoting the then-MACC chief repeating a narrative designed to amplify cross-border transactions - serious enough, it seemed, to warrant the involvement of government agencies in both countries.

The figure mentioned – RM2.5 billion – and the investigations were enough to rattle an acquisition, but after the dust finally settled, the whole scenario took a different turn – the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) was dragged to justify the action.

Ten days after Azam Baki’s retirement, it is obvious that such a chronicle did not exist – it was concocted for reasons better known to the MACC and its former chief.

On Wednesday, Azam’s successor, Abdul Halim Aman, confirmed that the SFO had never conducted any investigation related to the alleged flow of funds.

The Edge reported that he also confirmed that the MACC’s investigation into allegations of RM2.5 billion in money laundering linked to IJM Corporation Berhad was also found to be baseless.

This, he said, was after the MACC conducted joint investigations with Bank Negara, the Inland Revenue Board, and the SFO.

‘No further action’

Last week, the MACC cleared IJM chairperson Krishnan Tan and classified the case as “no further action” after finding no elements of criminal conduct, misconduct, or breaches of corporate governance.

“The investigation found that it involved minor assets in the form of legitimate financial investments through international banking institutions and managed professionally through lawful channels,” Halim was quoted as saying.

So, hundreds of costly man-hours paid for by the people were wasted on an investigation into a non-existent transaction, prompted by an anonymous claim?

In a previous commentary, I asked:

How does one move RM2.5 billion across the high seas without going through the banking system, which itself asks questions even when one remits money overseas for one’s children?

Do our authorities take action once a report is lodged?

Did IJM ever have RM2.5 billion to launder?

Do they chase frivolous claims, or have they adopted an “arrest first, investigate later” policy?

Exercise in futility

The answers Halim provided are the perfect riposte to the claims and MACC’s probe: if there was no money to launder, all other allegations fall.

The arrest, the questioning, the almost-daily media briefings were part of a bigger drama, but it turned out to be an exercise in futility.

MACC headquarters in Putrajaya

The IJM saga is not merely a bureaucratic misstep; it is a case study in how institutions can squander credibility by chasing shadows.

When the MACC trumpeted cross-border cooperation with the SFO, it was not just amplifying the seriousness of the allegations -- it was borrowing legitimacy from a foreign watchdog to bolster its own narrative.

That narrative has now collapsed, leaving behind a trail of wasted man-hours, reputational damage, and public cynicism.

The irony is stark: an agency tasked with safeguarding integrity ended up undermining its own. By staging arrests, issuing daily briefings, and invoking phantom billions, the MACC turned the investigation into a theatre.

And when the curtain fell, the audience - Malaysians footing the bill - were left wondering whether the performance was ever about justice, or simply about optics.

How credibility is built

This episode should force a reckoning. If anonymous websites and unverified claims can sway enforcement agencies, what does that say about their thresholds for evidence?

If they can invoke foreign partners who were never involved, what does that say about their respect for truth?

And if they can waste public resources so casually, what does that say about accountability to the very people they serve?

The lesson is clear: credibility is not built on press conferences or borrowed authority. It is built on diligence, restraint, and the courage to say “no case” before reputations are dragged through the mud.

Until our institutions learn that distinction, Malaysians will continue to watch investigations unfold not as instruments of justice, but as episodes in a long-running period drama where the plot is thin, the actors overplay their roles, and the audience is left paying for the ticket.

And here lies the real damage: the MACC’s reputation now lies in tatters, not because it failed to catch a criminal, but because it chased a crime that never existed.

In doing so, it has shown that the greatest threat to public trust is not corruption itself, but the spectacle of an anti-corruption agency mistaking theatre for truth. - Mkini

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R NADESWARAN is a veteran journalist who strives to uphold the ethos of civil rights leader John Lewis: “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT