MACC set to question several people over Najib tapes

NAJIB TAPES | The MACC is set to question several people as part of its probe into the nine telephone recordings of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak that it previously made public.

Door-stopped by the media this morning, chief commissioner Latheefa Koya declined to name who would be summoned.

“I can’t comment on who we are going to call, but basically I think you can have a sense of who will be called,” she said.

All those whose voices were heard in the audio clips “should” be called, she said when pressed.

Elaborating, Latheefa revealed that the anti-graft agency was almost done with its investigation.

It is probing the clips under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009 - which concerns the offence of using one’s office or position for gratification.

Those convicted are liable to a maximum of 20 years jail and a fine of either not less than five times the sum of gratification or RM10,000 depending on which sum is higher.

Aside from the MACC, the police are also probing the audio recordings.

“So hopefully that (probe) will be completed within a week or two. And then we will check with the police as well, what is the stage (of their investigation).

“But I think they are in the midst of waiting for the key witnesses to come and give statements. The police are also waiting, we are also waiting. Because there are cases ongoing (so) it is difficult to secure their attendance,” Latheefa said.

One of the audio clips depicts former MACC chief Dzulkifli Ahmad (photo) contacting Najib on Jan 5, 2016, about a certain investigation paper.

Another depicts Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor "advising" him on matters concerning the MACC, and the latter was heard confirming he had approved the appointment of Dzulkifli as MACC chief.

Still need info on AirAsia

Meanwhile, Latheefa said that MACC was still waiting on information from the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) before it could proceed with its probe into AirAsia.

“We are still waiting for further information [...]

“Yes, we have contacted (the UK authorities), but they have yet to come back to us,” she said when asked today.

Pressed if the local airline’s former executive chairperson Kamarudin Meranun and former CEO Tony Fernandes (photo) will be summoned for questioning, Latheefa said such decisions could only be made once MACC had all the information it needed.

AirAsia was previously implicated in SFO’s bribery investigation into European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

Airbus was alleged to have paid US$50 million in bribes and offered another US$55 million to sponsor a sports team linked to two “key decision-makers” at AirAsia and AirAsia X.

AirAsia has since denied all allegations and questioned why SFO had not sought its explanation during the probe.

The SFO investigation resulted in Airbus paying a record €3.6 billion in settlements in the UK, France and the US after it admitted to “endemic” levels of bribery in its business dealings.- Mkini