KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 — The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) will be investigated for possible offences involving the unauthorised release of banking information, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said today.

Khalid said the special taskforce probing 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has received many reports of banking information leaks, which he said could affect Malaysia’s economy and ultimately cause “economic sabotage” if left unchecked.

“Don’t be too eager to spread banking information that was obtained in ways that are not right, without authorisation from Bank Negara, publicise it; (that) is an offence.” 

“We will also probe the Wall Street Journal in this aspect,” he told reporters here after citing several laws under which the leaking of confidential bank documents was punishable.

“Because from what has happened, clearly there are those who were not authorised to access the information had accessed that information and distributed that information, maybe the person sold it for the interests of certain parties,” he said.

According to Khalid, police will investigate under Section 4 of the Computer Crimes Act, where unauthorised access with intention to commit or facilitate a further offence is punishable with a maximum RM150,000 fine or 10-year jail term or both.

Investigations will also be carried out under the Penal Code according to the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) procedures, with those committing “sabotage” facing 15 years’ imprisonment under the Penal Code’s Section 124L, he said.

“We will investigate those who possibly have access to these information, for example, banks, bank officials and anyone who has access, because if this is left alone, it may amount to sabotaging the economy of the country,” he said.

Earlier in the same media conference, Khalid explained the use of Computer Crimes Act was because it was apparent that those who gained access to the documents were not authorised to do so.

He also said the individuals may have sold the information “for the interest of certain parties.”

In a report last Friday, the WSJ claimed that government investigators found a money trail showed that US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) were moved between government agencies, banks and companies before it ended up in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s accounts.

Yesterday, WSJ also uploaded a batch of redacted documents that it said was from a “Malaysian government investigation” to back its report last week, but noted that these papers do not state the original money source or provide further details on the cash after it was allegedly transferred to Najib’s accounts.

The flowcharts and bank documents uploaded by WSJ relate to transactions in March 2013, December 2014 and February 2015 which purportedly ended up in Najib’s accounts in AmIslamic Bank.

A January 2014 letter on the power of attorney over three bank accounts under AmIslamic Bank Berhad — that WSJ said belonged to Najib — was also provided.

Najib has denied taking money for personal gain and categorised the allegations as “political sabotage”.