Despite being investigated for graft for nearly three years, two businesspersons found their lives and RM90,000 in bail money in limbo, as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has neither charged them, nor closed their files.

"The MACC said that the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) is still looking at their case... when I went to the AGC, they threw the ball back to the anti-graft body," said Andy Yong, legal counsel to the businesspersons.

One of them is being investigated under the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Act (Amlatfa) while the other is being probed under the MACC Act. Both are out on bail of RM40,000 and RM50,000 respectively.

Yong, however, reserved details of his clients’ identity and alleged offences to protect them from publicity.

He lamented that his client's lives and businesses continue to be disrupted as they are required to travel all the way from Malacca to the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya to report in every three months.

“Either charge them or close their case,” said Yong.

Business transactions are also difficult, as important business documents have remained in MACC storage and their accounts are still frozen.

Yong said that his clients’ offices were raided and ransacked and emptied of company documents, while banks where their company accounts are at were issued with letters to cease all transactions.

He related that his clients’ cases were not unique as he personally knew of over a hundred other MACC cases being handled by other lawyers.

If those involved were out on bail like his clients, he estimated that RM50,000 per person for one hundred cases would amount to RM5 million in MACC coffers as bail.

‘Let MACC have prosecution powers’

Yong said that he decided to come to the media after efforts to iron out the issue with MACC and the AGC were for naught as his clients became a football kicked between both sides.

Speaking on his clients’ behalf, Yong appealed to the government and AGC to use existing provisions under Section 377 of the Penal Code to allow MACC officers to prosecute cases as this would lessen their case load and free up cases like his clients’ who are still in limbo.

“We understand that as specified under Section 7 of the MACC Act, they only have powers to investigate, not to prosecute. But you can use Section 377 as was done for the Employees Provident Fund and Internal Revenue Board officers, which allowed them to handle cases in court.”

The same proposal, he said, has been made by the Special Committee on Corruption headed by Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad, although no action from the government side has been taken as yet.

Asked if his clients are considering legal action against the MACC for losses incurred and to recover their bail, Yong said that they will still have to await the outcome of the anti-graft investigations.

MACC has embarked on a vigorous series of investigations as it gears up efforts to fight graft and win back public support. However, some have complained that cases often got stuck as the AGC either takes too long to look at their investigation papers or refused to prosecute in certain cases.