Pua wants auditor-general to probe SRC International

Auditor-general Madinah Mohamad must probe former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International, urged a DAP lawmaker.

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua said this is to show that the audit department was serious about tackling integrity issues within government agencies and companies.

"The people have a right to know what happened to the money (SRC) borrowed from Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP)," he told a press conference at the parliament lobby today.

The press conference was held prior to Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia's move to ban the media from the lobby.

Pua said this while commenting on the Finance Ministry's announcement that Deloitte Malaysia had stated their intention to resign as SRC's auditor, and that a new auditor has yet to be appointed.

He questioned why this was the case as there are many audit firms.

"Are none qualified? Or is no audit firm willing to take the case as there are too many things about SRC that can't be revealed?" he asked.

SRC was established by 1MDB in 2011 to explore strategic investment opportunities in the energy sector.

The company secured a RM4 billion government guaranteed loan from KWAP in 2012, which was reportedly used for investments in Indonesia and Mongolia, among others.

A key figure in SRC International was Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, a managing director of the company as well as a one-time chief investment officer at 1MDB.

The Singaporean court had heard that Nik Faisal approved the transfer of US$11.95 million from SRC's coffers to one Eric Tan Kim Loong, which is now said to be an alias for Malaysian businessman Jho Low.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Tan was the beneficiary of British Virgin Islands-based Tanore Finance, which had sent US$681 million to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's personal bank accounts.

SRC International had also been accused of transferring RM74 million to Najib's bank accounts in 2014, based on documents shown to the media by attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali last year.

Finance Ministry Incorporated took over the reins of SRC International from 1MDB in the late 2012.- Mkini