KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abd Razak and 1MDB’s former president and CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy will be charged in the sessions court today.
Malaysia Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) has confirmed that the duo will be charged today for allegedly tampering the auditor general’s report into 1MDB, in February 2016.
Najib was arrested on Monday but was released on the same day on MACC bail while Arul Kanda was arrested this morning after he showed up at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya about 10am yesterday.
Arul Kanda’s lawyer Datuk N. Sivananthan said his client had has been arrested by MACC.
He added that Arul Kanda was arrested at 10.35am and would be charged on Wednesday with former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
Sivanathan said Arul Kanda would not be released on bail unlike Najib, he will be held overnight before being charged at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex.
The lawyer said there will only be one charge against Arul Kanda, under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009, for the alleged tampering of the auditor general’s report on 1MDB.
Section 23 of the MACC Act covers the abuse of power that takes place when a person who is a member of a public or government body uses his position or the office to make a decision or take action for the benefit of himself, his relative or associate.
On Nov 25, Auditor-General Tan Sri Dr Madinah Mohamad had said that one of the changes made to the 1MDB final audit report was the removal of a paragraph or paragraphs mentioning the presence of Jho Low.
She revealed that the directive to make the changes had come from Tan Sri Shukry Salleh, who had served as the principal private secretary to Najib when he was prime minister.
