MACC urges holders of 408 bank accounts to surrender funds (Updated)

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has urged the holders of the 408 bank accounts that were frozen in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) probe to voluntarily surrender funds they had received from the state-owned investment firm, or face action.
MACC chief Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Shukri Abdull said today the account holders should come forward and meet investigators immediately.
"If they meet us, we will show them proof of them receiving such funds and we will ask them to return it voluntarily. If they fail to do so, then we will take action and use the law to recover the money. They have to return the funds as it belongs to the rakyat. Even if it is a single sen, we are determined to recover it," he said after launching a book authored by Transparency International Malaysia president Datuk Akhbar Satar titled "Corruption and Crime in Malaysia – Perception or Reality?".
Mohd Shukri, who is a member of the four-man task force investigating 1MDB, said among the objectives of the team was to recover the siphoned funds.
On whether MACC had notified the account holders prior to freezing their accounts, he said: "There is no need for us to give any notice when we find funds we suspect are from 1MDB. If we do, the funds will be gone (before it can be frozen)."
Mohd Shukri said it is likely that more bank accounts will be frozen, including those maintained overseas, adding that the countries where the 1MDB money trail had been detected have been waiting for Malaysia to act on the case.
Asked if the task force will go to Dubai to quiz Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, he said: "Its not only MACC but other agencies worldwide that are looking for him."
On Monday, the 1MDB task force announced that it had frozen RM1.1 billion found in 408 bank accounts suspected to have received 1MDB funds. The accounts belonged to individuals, political parties and non-governmental organisations.
Akhbar said his book, that also covers the 1MDB scandal up until May this year, was to give an insight on crime and corruption in the country.
The book, that took him two years to write, is available at major bookstores such as Borders, MPH, Popular and Kinokuniya at RM45 per copy.