Malaysia’s ‘Azamgate’ escalates as Securities Commission contradicts anti-graft chief’s account of events
- Regulator shifts stance on its probe into stock-trading controversy, undermining Azam Baki’s claim that it was his brother who made purchases at centre of the saga
- While the commission says there was ‘no breach’ of the law, opponents view its latest statement as a ‘smoking gun’
The Securities Commission – Malaysia’s capital markets regulator – had on Tuesday said its probe into alleged improper share trading by Azam Baki, head of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), was inconclusive. In turn, Azam issued his own statement framing the decision as conclusive and indicating the Securities Commission considered the matter closed.
But faced with anger from the public and government critics over its failure to offer further details about the investigation, the Securities Commission on Wednesday issued a fresh statement saying it had in fact arrived at the decision that there was “no breach” of the law.
It said Azam was in fact the “named account holder and had control of the said trading account”. The top graft-buster also operated the account “in that he had given instructions to buy, sell and transfer securities from the said account”, the Securities Commission said.
That pronouncement stood in contrast to Azam’s claims that it was his brother, and not him, who had been responsible for the share purchases at the centre of the controversy.