4 Jan 2017

MACC top man confirms he quit due to frustration, cites 'spider web' laws

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) director Bahri Mohd Zin has confirmed having opted for early retirement due to frustration over the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.
"There was too much money lost. l should not serve in spider web laws,” he told Malaysiakini.
Asked what he meant by “spider web laws”, he said it referred to laws that punished the small offenders, but allowed the bigger wrongdoers to escape.
However, Bahri declined to elaborate on the matter.
Earlier, Malaysiakini quoted sources claiming that Bahri, who headed the Special Operations Division retired last Friday, two years ahead of his official retirement age of 60.
Sources said a farewell party was held last month for Bahri and a number of other MACC staff who had retired were present, but he chose not to attend.
“He was dejected with what had happened to the case as similar cases like this had seen a court conviction in the past,” said a source close to the former director.
Meanwhile, Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub has offered Bahri a platform to continue fighting corruption, in appreciation for the graftbuster's efforts.
However he said this was not an invitation to join the party.
"Whether he uses our platform officially or unofficially, we can discuss that later," Salahuddin told Malaysiakini.
Bahri had served in the MACC as well as its precursor, the Anti-Corruption Agency, for over 30 years.
The special division he headed was formed in 2010 to investigate high-profile cases, especially those involving corruption of more than RM1 million.
SRC, which was previously a subsidiary of 1MDB and now under the Finance Ministry, came under the spotlight after RM42 million of its money was found in Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's personal bank account.
While MACC’s 1MDB investigations were complex and involved many overseas jurisdictions - with the attorney-general refusing to issue a mutual legal assistance to the commission to work with foreign investigators - the SRC case was clear-cut as it involved mostly local entities.
The SRC money was deposited into Najib's accounts in two transactions - on Dec 26, 2014 and Feb 10, 2015 - after being routed through two companies, Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd and Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd.
Najib has reportedly claimed to be unaware about the money from SRC, and attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali also cleared him of any wrongdoing in the matter.


Read more: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/367982#ixzz4Ul9j4NKM

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