The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) formally arrested Arul Kanda Kandasamy, the former Chief Executive Officer of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) group, on Tuesday, December 11, at 10:30 am, over the tampering of the 1MDB audit report.
This was confirmed by Arul’s lawyer, Datuk N. Sivananthan, who also said that Arul Kanda will be charged on Wednesday, December 12.
Sivananthan told the press gathered at MACC headquarters that Arul Kanda is to be detained overnight by the MACC. He also said, “They (MACC) will be producing him in court tomorrow (Wednesday) morning to be charged along with (former Prime Minister) Datuk Seri Najib (Tun Razak).”
It is unknown whether anyone else will face charges along with Najib and Arul Kanda. Najib was arrested yesterday but was released on bail after a few hours.
The former CEO of 1MDB will most likely face just one charge under Section 23 of the MACC Act. He went to MACC headquarters on his own volition at 9:30 this morning, having been scheduled for an interrogation by anti-graft officers, donning in a black cap in order to escape media attention. He was spotted while registering at MACC headquarters, however.
Tan Sri Dr. Madinah Mohamad, the Auditor-General, said late in November that an alteration had been made on the 1MDB final audit report, namely portions of the report that mentioned Low Taek Jho (Jho Low), the Malaysian financier who is a key figure in the 1MDB scandal.
Dr. Madinah said that orders to remove references to Jho Low originated from Tan Sri Shukry Salleh, the principal private secretary to then-Prime Minister Najib.
Tan Sri Dr. Ali Hamsa, once former Chief Secretary to the Government, entered MACC headquarters earlier today as well. While Dr. Ali was reportedly not at MACC headquarters to be questioned over the tampered audit report, he has been interrogated over this issue in the past.
Read related: Najib arrested for alleged tampering of 1MDB audit report
https://theindependent.sg.sg/najib-arrested-for-alleged-tampering-of-1mdb-audit-report/