MACC Chief Defends RM800,000 Share Holdings, Says Sold Within Year

Following Bloomberg’s report that he owns 17.7 million shares worth RM800,000 in Velocity Capital Partner Bhd, Azam has responded by claiming he properly declared the shares and sold them within the same year of purchase in 2024.

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The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner, Tan Sri Azam Baki, has responded to reports about his shareholding in a listed company, claiming he properly declared the RM800,000 stake and sold it “within the same year” of purchase in 2024.

Speaking to the press, Azam said the declaration was made through the government’s Human Resource Management Information System and described the reports as “malicious and misleading.”

He has indicated he may pursue legal action over what he described as defamatory claims.

I made the declaration regarding this, including my sources of income, through the Human Resource Management Information System to the public service department. All transparent.

The controversy stems from Bloomberg’s report that Azam, 62, owns 17.7 million shares in Velocity Capital Partner Bhd, according to the company’s annual filing with Malaysia’s Companies Commission on 3 February last year.

The stake is worth nearly RM800,000 based on Monday’s (9 February) closing price.

According to its website, Velocity Capital is transitioning from its previous core businesses in transportation, logistics and ceramics to focus on financial services, particularly lending.

What The Rules Say

Under Malaysian government guidelines issued in 2024, civil servants can buy shares in Malaysian-incorporated companies as long as their holdings don’t exceed 5 per cent of the paid-up capital or RM100,000, whichever is lower.

They must also declare their assets at least once every five years, and when they buy or sell shareholdings.

There had been no prominent public reports of civil servants facing disciplinary action for their shareholdings.

Anti-corruption groups like Transparency International (TI) have long pushed for Malaysian civil servants to publicly declare their assets.

@harunmohdshah Panas ! Media Bloomberg Dedah Ketua Sprm Ada Saham Bernilai 800 Ribu #sprmmalaysia #azambaki #nurulizzahanwar #anwaribrahim ♬ A tense suspense piece on the piano(1270072) – illmatic studio

Not His First Rodeo

This isn’t Azam’s first controversy over shareholdings – in 2022, similar allegations led to street protests in Kuala Lumpur demanding his resignation, with demonstrators getting arrested.

Back then, Azam claimed that his brother had used his trading account to buy the shares, and the Securities Commission (SC) cleared him of any violation of securities laws.

He later sued the journalist who broke the story, Lalitha Kunaratnam, for RM10 million in defamation damages, but the case was settled in 2024 on undisclosed terms, with no admission of guilt.

Despite the recurring controversies, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has extended Azam’s contract three times beyond the mandatory retirement age for civil servants.

Anwar has defended these extensions, saying Azam shows “extraordinary courage” in investigating powerful corruption suspects.

His current contract expires in May.