Fourth suspect in 1MDB probe remanded four days, as another makes bail

KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 — The managing director of a construction firm has been remanded for four days today to aid in a probe on the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy, making him the fourth to be detained by the authorities so far.

The 48-year-old “Datuk” was nabbed in Kuala Lumpur yesterday evening and will be assisting in investigations under Section 17 (a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, a source close to the investigation told Malay Mail Online.

Section 17 covers the accepting and giving of bribes.

The man’s firm is said to have business dealings with SRC International — a former 1MDB subsidiary that is now under the direct control of the Finance Ministry.

The authorities also released today a 54-year-old man — believed to be the managing director of Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd — on RM100,000 bail with two sureties.

The man was the second suspect nabbed by the mutli-agency special taskforce formed to probe 1MDB.

Aside from the managing director of Ihsan Perdana, which manages 1MDB’s corporate social responsiblity programmes, the taskforce also detained two men aged 28 and 39 who are believed to be linked to SRC International.

Yesterday, the first suspect — the 39-year-old director of a firm believed to have business dealings with SRC International — was released on police bail of RM100,000 at the end of his four-day remand.

The 1MDB special taskforce is currently investigating an alleged US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) money trail involving several companies — SRC International, Ihsan Perdana, Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd —  that purportedly channeled the funds to what is believed to be Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s bank accounts.

In a report last month, US-based daily Wall Street Journal, citing documents from Malaysian investigators currently scrutinising the troubled 1MDB’s financials, claimed that a money trail showed that US$700 million were moved among government agencies, banks and companies before it ended up in Najib’s accounts.

The 1MDB taskforce involves the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Bank Negara Malaysia, the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.