Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki confirmed that he once owned shares in Velocity Capital Partner Bhd, but informed that the holding was sold several months after the purchase.
He explained that the purchase of the shares was made in early 2025 using personal funds, including savings, pensions and retirement gratuities, before being sold in full in July without recording any profit.
The transaction was also declared through the Human Resources Management Information System and related documentation can be accessed by authorized officials at any time.
The clarification was made following a Bloomberg report claiming that Azam owned 17.7 million Velocity Capital shares based on Companies Commission of Malaysia records dated February 3, 2025.
Bloomberg also emphasized civil service regulations that limit civil servants’ share ownership to a maximum of 5% holding or RM100,000, whichever is lower. Based on the closing price of 4.5 sen on February 9, the value of the block of shares is estimated at almost RM800,000.
In early 2025, Velocity Capital shares were trading at around 6.5 sen and had previously jumped to 10.5 sen, potentially valuing the holding at up to RM1.86 million.
During the period from January to July, the share price remained above five sen, making the minimum value of the holding around RM885,000. On Wednesday, the shares closed unchanged at 4.5 sen.
However, the company's annual report dated October 1, 2025 did not list Azam among the top 30 shareholders of Velocity Capital, which covers holdings ranging from 28.79% to 0.28%.
Azam also stressed that share transactions are not illegal for civil servants as long as there is no conflict of interest and proper declarations are made.
Following this, he announced that he had instructed his lawyer to issue a letter of demand to Bloomberg and was prepared to take legal action.
In a related development, a Malaysiakini report claimed that Azam owns 4.52 million shares or 1.08% stake in Awanbiru Technology Bhd.
However, Azam denied the claim and insisted that he currently does not hold any shares in any company, besides stating that his trading account is empty and can be verified through Bursa Malaysia.
