Government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said the committee would be chaired by Chief Secretary Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar.

“He (Shamsul) will probe the allegations against the MACC chief,” he said at a press conference in Putrajaya.

Fahmi added that Shamsul would be tasked with reviewing the claims “in depth”.

Bloomberg had reported that Azam held 17.7 million shares in Velocity Capital Bhd, or 1.7%, based on the company’s annual return lodged on Feb 3 last year.

It was claimed that Azam was still listed as a shareholder in records kept by the Companies Commission of Malaysia.

This is said to be in breach of a 2024 government circular which states that civil servants may hold shares in Malaysian-incorporated companies only if the holdings do not exceed 5% of the paid-up capital or RM100,000 in value, whichever is lower.

Azam subsequently said that his RM800,000 shareholding was bought last year and disposed of within the same year. He also said he had declared the shares.

Yesterday, he said he would send Bloomberg a letter of demand over the article, saying the report was malicious and had tarnished his reputation and that of MACC.

Earlier today, he said he was open to being investigated by any committee established by the government to examine his shareholdings.

He said he had “nothing to hide” as all his financial and asset declarations were made in accordance with public service regulations through official channels.

He said such scrutiny was important not only for his personal integrity but also to uphold public confidence in MACC as an institution.