New task force will report to 1MDB committee

The 1MDB investigation task force announced earlier today will report to the 1MDB committee announced by the Council of Eminent Persons last week, said the committee’s chief Abu Talib Othman.
“The investigating team will report to our committee,” he told reporters when met after a meeting at Menara Ilham in Kuala Lumpur today when asked about the difference between his committee and the one led by former attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail.
He also told reporters to wait for details to be announced in a statement by the Council of Eminent Persons’ secretariat later, as he is not in a position to issue press releases.
Earlier, others sighted entering and leaving the building included Abdul Gani, Abu Kassim Mohamed, and Mohd Shukri Abdull all of whom are among the four jointly heading the investigation task force.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) announced this afternoon that they along with former Special Branch chief Abdul Hamid Bador will jointly lead a team comprising personnel from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the police, Bank Negara, and several lawyers.
“The task force will be responsible for coordinating investigations, detecting and retrieving assets from the misappropriation of 1MDB funds stashed or invested domestically and abroad,” the PMO said, adding that it will be seeking assistance from the US, Switzerland, Singapore, Canada, and other countries.
When met outside Menara Ilham, Gani told reporters that the task force will meet tomorrow and speak to the press afterwards.
Also sighted at the building was Syed Naqiz Shahabuddin Syed Abdul Jabbar, a lawyer who is also a member of the committee led by Abu Talib.
Other members of the committee are Nik Shahrizal Sulaiman, Faris Rabidin and Cynthia Gabriel.
The Council of Eminent Persons announced the 1MDB committee on May 17 saying that it would look into 1MDB-related matters. However, it did not state the committee’s terms of reference.

Meanwhile, Abu Talib told reporters that the joint meeting between the 1MDB committee and the 1MDB task force today spoke on investigating the 1MDB scandal with a view of recovering lost funds.
To a question, he said the charge sheet against former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak that was prepared by Abdul Gani was not raised in today’s meeting.
“No. We only discussed that we will investigate fairly and thoroughly and it must be in accordance with accepted practice and procedures. The investigating team must be fair to all.
“As the prime minister said, we observe the rule of law. It will be observed,” he said.-Mkini