At a press conference today, Anti-Corruption Advisory Board (ACAB) chairman Abu Zahar Ujang said the board was satisfied with the action taken by MACC against its own officers in a recent high-profile case.

“From the start, the MACC and ACAB maintained that the suspect must be charged in court as soon as possible to avoid negative perception,” he said.

“As you know, the power to charge (a suspect) lies with the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and not the MACC.”

He was commenting on the recent case in which an MACC officer was charged in court over the misappropriation of US$6.94 million (about RM29 million) seized by the agency.

He is alleged to have committed the offence between Dec 17, 2018 and April 9, 2019 at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya.

Last September, FMT reported that the officer was investigated for firearms and drug-related offences as well.

The officer was believed to have been involved in drug-related activities for a year.

The MACC also seized RM1.6 million in assets belonging to the officer – a residential property in Selangor, two Ducati motorcycles, and two cars – a Mercedes Benz and a Honda Type R.

The anti-graft agency had previously confirmed that three of its senior officers had been arrested to assist in investigations into allegations of abuse of power and malpractice in the case of the former head of the Malaysian External Intelligence Organisation, Hasanah Ab Hamid.

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