By RAHIMI YUNUS

Former Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak and ex-president of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) Arul Kanda Kandasamy are expected to be charged tomorrow on alleged tampering of 1MDB’s final audit report.

According to sources, the duo will be charged under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court.

Various media also reported that Najib will be charged with using his position to instruct the then Auditor-General (A-G) Tan Sri Ambrin Buang to remove certain findings in the report, including items that stated the presence of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jo or Jho Low at a 1MDB board meeting.

Najib was arrested by the MACC around 11am yesterday after arriving at the MACC’s headquarters in Putrajaya for another round of questioning, and later freed on MACC bail at about 1.20pm.

He was previously questioned for four hours last week on the report tampering case.

Meanwhile, it was reported that Arul Kanda will be indicted for abetting with Najib.

On Nov 25, A-G Tan Sri Dr Madinah Mohamad revealed that the final audit report of 1MDB had been altered with Najib’s knowledge.

She said two key points were discarded from the report which stated the presence of Jho Low at a 1MDB board meeting and the financial status of 1MDB, upon which any remarks on the matter would raise red flags over mismanagement of the sovereign state fund.

The MACC has also questioned several other high-ranking officials of the previous administration to assist the investigation, including former chief secretary to the government Tan Sri Ali Hamsa, former A-G Ambrin, former MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad and Tan Sri Shukry Salleh, who had served as the chief principal private secretary to the then PM.

Ambrin has denied doctoring the final audit report and insisted that the one submitted with changes was “merely a draft”.

Since the defeat of Barisan Nasional in the 14th General Election, Najib has been summoned to the MACC headquarters eight times, of which he was arrested three times and spent overnight at the MACC lockup once.

He was also called once to Bukit Aman’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department that houses the Anti-Money Laundering Unit at Menara KPJ in Jalan Tun Razak for questioning in relations to the 1MDB scandal.

Currently, Najib is facing a total of 38 criminal charges that include fraud, corruption, abuse of power and money laundering. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.