KUALA LUMPUR (May 5): The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on Friday (May 5) said it had managed to bring back and arrest an individual linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal, following cooperation with foreign authorities.

The individual, believed to be a close aid of the alleged mastermind behind the scandal, Low Taek Jho or Jho Low, is said to have played a role in 1MDB and its former subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd.

The individual is said to have arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) on Wednesday (May 3) at 3.30am.

“After arriving at klia2, he was issued with a notice to be present at the MACC headquarters at 10am yesterday (Thursday, May 4). The MACC has recorded his statement and searched his property on the same day,” a source with the MACC said.

The source added that it is believed that the individual had received illegal funds from 1MDB and SRC through Wright Shaw Ltd.

It is believed that the individual had deposited cash into former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's account, as revealed in the 1MDB-Tanore trial.

Prior to this, MACC, with the help of Singapore’s Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), had seized Wright Shaw’s bank accounts amounting to US$5.2 million and investigations showed that the money was from 1MDB, through Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia.

The source added that on April 26, the MACC, along with Singapore’s CAD had managed to bring back RM16 million from Totality Ltd, which is owned by another 1MDB fugitive Casey Tang Keng Chee.

Tang is the executive director for commercial development in 1MDB from 2012 and 2013 and was involved with 1MDB since its inception as Terengganu Investment Authority.

“Tang is involved in the conspiracy to confuse banks and hiding the fact from the 1MDB board of directors to move US$700 million to Good Star Ltd, which is controlled by Low Taek Jho or Jho Low,” the MACC statement said.

Tang is presently placed on Interpol's Red notice since leaving the country on June 29, 2019, where he is also charged under Section 23 of the MACC Act.

MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki confirmed the latest arrest of the individual and said the MACC is working hard to bring back more assets and individuals that are involved in Singapore.

“To date, [the] MACC has recovered 70 % of 1MDB assets, involving a sum of RM28.3 billion,” the chief commissioner said.