Malaysian police to investigate 1MDB special task force

Malaysia's police force said Monday (Jul 13) it will investigateall members of a special task force - including central bank Bank Negara personnel - as part of a probe to identify the source of a leak of "classified documents to foreign nationals" pertaining to contoversial state investment fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

In a statement, the Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said it was duty-bound to initiate the investigation after orders from the Attorney-General as well as police reports received on the matter..

The special task force in question is investigating allegations that millions of dollars were channelled into Prime Minister Najib Razak's personal bank accounts through 1MDB-linked entities. It consists of Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, Bank Negara Governor Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamed and the Inspector-General of Police himself, Khalid Abu Bakar.

The allegations came about after reports in the Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Report, supposedly based on these "leaked" documents. Mr Khalid said the police investigation was to determine who leaked the material and if it was genuine or doctored.

He said the leak posed very serious national security implications and police had not ruled out the "possibility of a conspiracy to subvert Malaysia's democratic process and topple the Prime Minister". 

On Saturday, blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin had alleged three top Bank Negara officials were under investigation on suspicion of having leaked confidential information to the media.

The Inspector-General of police denied this on Sunday and Bank Negara issued a statement that same day, strongly condemning the allegations. 

"Such allegations are without basis," Bank Negara said in a statement. "In this regard, the Bank has lodged a police report. Bank Negara Malaysia remains steadfast in our quest to uncovering the truth in a fair and just manner."

It added: "In discharging its accountability, the Bank is not aligned to any faction and will not betray the trust of the public. Bank Negara Malaysia will also investigate any breaches to the laws it administers. 

"The Bank, as part of the special task force, continues to remain committed towards achieving the objectives of the special task force."