Government-backed 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has obtained a six-month extension to file its accounts for the last financial year from the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM), The Star reported today.

Quoting a spokesperson of the company, the report said that the extension means the deadline for 1MDB to file its annual returns has been extended to March 31, 2014, while confirming that the company had indeed changed its auditors from KPMG, to rival firm, Deloitte.

Yesterday, DAP's Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua ( right ) said that 1MDB's failure to file its returns for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2013 raises questions over its transparency.

He particularly noted that the change of auditors "rings the loudest alarm", as there are unanswered questions regarding 1MDB's US$2.32 billion fund in the Cayman Islands.

Prior to the extension, it was due to file its annual returns before Sept 30 last year.

“Since 2012, 1MDB has had a new business direction. It has grown exponentially, requiring the consolidation of several new subsidiaries with large assets worldwide into the 1MDB group,” the report quoted the 1MDB official as saying.

1MDB was set up in 2010 with a RM5 billion seed fund to facilitate investments that would have a high impact on the economy.

KPMG had been its auditors since its inception, and no reason was given for the change in auditing firms, the report added.

It has subsequently incurred large debts in its books due to its purchase of power plants, and its proposed development of Tun Razak Exchange in Bandar Tun Razak and Bandar Malaysia in Sungai Besi.

According to the 2012 annual accounts of 1MDB, a sum amounting to US$2.32 billion (RM7.67 billion) had been placed with a segregated portfolio company in Cayman Islands, a move that has caused it to be a target of criticism from many parties, especially in the opposition coalition.