Whistleblower in Azam-shares scandal confirms LOD

SHAH ALAM - Anti-Corruption activist has been issued a Letter of Demand on behalf of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki.

This is believed to be the first legal move against those involved in allegations regarding his ownership of shares from various companies in 2015.

The activist Lalitha Kunaratnam, who has also been referred to as a whistleblower in this case posted a scanned copy of the letter on her Twitter account @LalithaVelvet.

Lalitha, whose articles were carried by the Independent News Service or INS, said she was issued the letter earlier today.

“I have received a Letter of Demand from @SPRMMalaysia Chief Commissioner. Thanks,” she said in the post.

Lalitha had previously tweeted condemning MACC’s Anti-Corruption Advisory Board announcement clearing Azam of any wrongdoing.

“I spent a week preparing my report, charts, tables, etc as well as photocopying and compiling SSM records, etc.

“And this is how the board throws a whistleblower under the bus,” she said.

Lalitha also posted stating that MACC’s actions; from barring the media entry to disregarding the need for an independent probe into allegations of improprieties in the press conference yesterday did not do the anti-graft body any favours.

She said some of Azam’s own remarks yesterday were similarly baffling and bordering on arrogance.

According to LOD copy shared, the demand to cease and desist concerned two articles written by Lalitha in December last year, titled “Business ties among MACC leadership: How deep does it go? (Part 1)” and “Business ties among MACC leadership: How deep does it go? (Part 2)”.

Azam said yesterday that he would take legal against those who had levelled accusations at him, calling the moves an attempt to tarnish his image and to erode public trust in the anti-graft agency.

He also said there was nothing wrong in allowing his brother, Nasir Baki, to conduct business use his accounts to buy shares on the open market.

He said this after the board declared that there were no conflict of interest occured in his purchase of the shares.

However, today the Securities Commission Malaysia said Azam had gone against the law in sharing central depositories accounts.

It said that every securities account opened with a central depository must be in the name of the beneficial owner of the deposited securities or the name of an authorised nominee.