KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6 — The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) announced today it will be calling in Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Tan Sri Azam Baki for questioning over alleged violation of stock trading laws.
This was after Azam ended his silence over his alleged acquisition of millions of shares in two public-listed companies in 2015. In a news conference yesterday, he claimed he had allowed his brother to use his share trading account to buy those shares.
Citing Section 25 of the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act (SICDA), the SC said every securities account opened with a central depository must be in the name of the beneficial owner of the deposited securities or in the name of an authorised nominee.
The regulatory authority further wrote that Section 29A of SICDA stipulates that all dealings in securities shall be effected only by the beneficial owner of the securities or an authorised nominee.
“The SC will be in touch with the parties involved, including Tan Sri Azam Baki, for an explanation and to verify statements made, as well as gather any relevant evidence,” the statement said briefly.
It is understood that the shares in question had already been transferred back to Azam’s brother, Nasir Baki, back in 2015 — based on a statement by Anti-Corruption Advisory Board chairman Tan Sri Abu ZaharUjang at the same press conference yesterday.
Abu Zahar also vouched for Azam, saying that the board had cleared Azam of any wrongdoing or conflict of interest.
The controversy erupted when Edmund Gomez, a political economics professor, resigned from MACC’s Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel last December 28 in protest of purported inaction against allegations of Azam’s ownership of the publicly traded stocks.
