KUALA LUMPUR, March 22 — Khairy Jamaluddin said today his Youth and Sports Ministry has traced the alleged systematic loophole abused by a senior official who purportedly siphoned RM100 million of its funds over the past six years.

He added that his ministry will share its findings with the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) and an independent taskforce investigating the issue.

“We can assist as internally we have identified the alleged loophole.

“But we want to make sure that the taskforce looks into whatever they want to look at. We can point them to exactly what it was,” he told a press conference at the Umno headquarters here.

The Rembau MP also said that he had been ordered by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak after briefing him today, to immediately “fix the problem”.

Khairy added that he had been notified by the Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Ali Hamsa that an independent taskforce is to probe the matter and wants it to be completed by the end of the first quarter of this year.

The Rembau MP also reiterated that he accepts full responsibility and his ministry will take “proactive measures” to resolve the scandal.

MACC arrested a 56-year-old ministry official last Friday on suspicion that he had embezzled some RM100 million over the past six years.

The authority also seized assets from the suspect worth about RM20 million, including 12 vehicles, designer handbags and fine jewellery, besides freezing 69 bank accounts containing RM8.3 million.

According to MACC’s preliminary investigations, the money was purportedly channeled to contractors’ companies and to the suspect’s bank accounts through the National Sports Council.

Khairy said today the suspect is still a civil servant but has been transferred out of the Youth and Sports Ministry.