ACA had cleared Anwar of 'RM3 bil bank account' - Malaysiakini

Former ACA director of investigations Abdul Razak Idris told the High Court today he had cleared Anwar Ibrahim of allegations of stashing RM3 billion in foreign accounts and having foreign links to Western interests.

Abdul Razak, 60, who is now retired but a director of several companies, said ACA had investigated the matter following allegations made in a statutory declaration by former assistant governor of Bank Negara Abdul Murad Khalid.

He said a team of ACA officers went to Singapore and United Kingdom to probe the allegations.

"We went to meet Murad and several British witnesses. But the investigations resulted in 'No case' against Anwar pertaining to allegations made in Murad's statutory declaration."

"Further, I concluded that the allegations contained in the SD (statutory declaration) were baseless and unsustainable, and I consequently ordered that the investigations be closed."

Murad signed the statutory declaration on Oct 29, 1999 - about one month after Anwar was arrested following his sacking as deputy prime minister in early September that year.

Abdul Razak then submitted his own statutory declaration on the matter and tendered it in court.

The former top ACA investigator was testifying in a RM100 million defamation suit by Anwar against New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd and its former group editor-in-chief, Abdullah Ahmad.

The alleged defamatory article, 'Anwar's link to US lobbyist', was published on March 2, 2002.