RM177mil cash seizure among largest in agency's history
KAJANG: Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki revealed today the RM177 million seized in a case linked to the ninth prime minister is one of the largest sums he has seen in his 42-year career.
He said the only comparable case was the RM53.3 million found during the 2016 Sabah Water Department scandal, previously the biggest in his experience.
Azam made the remarks, without specifically naming Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, while launching Universiti Islam Selangor's (UIS) integrity policy.
He said the massive amount of cash had a strong "scent of money."
"I remember holding a press conference in October 2016 where I saw mountains of cash stacked in an MACC room in Sabah. Even if there had been faeces in that room, you wouldn't have smelled it because the only smell was that of money, sweet, tempting.
At a March 3 press conference, the MACC displayed nearly RM170 million in foreign currencies and 16kg of gold bars worth almost RM7 million.
The items were seized from three locations, including a "safe house", in a corruption and money laundering probe involving Ismail Sabri, according to the MACC.
The cash was in currencies including Baht, Riyal, Pound, Won, Euro, Swiss Franc, and Yuan.
Azam also addressed claims of selective prosecution made earlier this year.
"I responded: just look at the money on the table, does this look like a case of selective prosecution?" he said.
He said members of the Special Committee on Corruption recently questioned him about claims of systemic corruption in Malaysia.
"I told them, the corruption we're seeing today stems from the values instilled in us by our families, our own attitudes, and the environments where we were educated.
"We once had leaders determined to combat corruption, which led to the formation of the Anti-Corruption Agency (BPR).
"But after the economy began to boom and more people amassed wealth from the share market, society began chasing material wealth. Integrity took a backseat. We even began raising our children to chase success and money rather than teaching them to be good and useful people," he said.
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