MACC: Azam's shareholdings comply with disclosure rules
MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki’s shareholdings in a financial services company had been properly declared to the Public Service Department, the commission said today.
In a statement, it dismissed a Bloomberg report detailing Azam’s shareholdings as containing “misleading statements and unfounded allegations”.
“The chief commissioner of MACC has fully complied with the applicable asset declaration requirements, including declarations made via the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) to the Public Service Department (PSD) in respect of sources of income as well as the acquisition and disposal of assets, including shares.
“Any portrayal suggesting a failure to declare assets is factually incorrect and creates a misleading impression of the integrity and governance framework governing MACC and the public service, thereby unfairly and detrimentally reflecting on the commission as a law enforcement agency,” it said.
Mulling legal action
Meanwhile, Azam (above) reportedly told the New Straits Times that he is considering legal action against reports questioning the transaction, saying they are malicious, misleading, and defamatory in nature.
Azam said he purchased the shares last year and disposed of them in the same year, and it was “all transparent” because it had been declared through the HRMIS.
The Bloomberg report this morning stated that Azam owns 17.7 million shares in Velocity Capital Partner Berhad - which is about a 1.7 percent stake.
Malaysiakini has verified the report with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) records, which in turn are based on company documents registered on Dec 26 last year.
The share prices varied between RM0.015 per share and RM0.065 per share last year, meaning Azam’s shareholdings could be worth between RM265,500 and RM1,150,500 at the time.
This is far in excess of the limits placed on civil servants, where they cannot buy more than RM100,000 worth of shares in any single company.
Previously, in late 2021, the MACC chief came under scrutiny over his ownership of 1,930,000 shares in Gets Global Berhad, previously KBES Berhad, on April 30, 2015, worth around RM772,000 at the time.
His shareholding in Gets Global went down to 1,029,500 as of March 31, 2016, worth around RM340,000 at the time.
He also held 2,156,000 warrants in Excel Force MSC Berhad in March 2016.
The RM100,000 share purchase limit rule for civil servants was already in place at the time.
