In an interview with the media, Azam claimed that the report published by the international news agency was malicious and had tarnished his and MACC’s reputation.

The MACC chief commissioner insisted that he had not committed any offence and that he did not hold any shares in the market currently.

“We did reply to (Bloomberg) on Jan 14, but why didn’t they say that in their article?

“Tomorrow, my lawyer will send the letter of demand, either in Malaysia or in the US,” said Azam.

Azam said he had proactively declared his shareholdings to the public services department in July 2025, and that they were disposed of within the year.

Therefore, he said claims that he still held equity were false and “very malicious”.

“Even now, I don’t have any units of any other share. I don’t have a single unit in any other company,” he maintained.

Bloomberg had reported that Azam held 17.7 million shares in Velocity Capital Bhd, or 1.7%, based on the company’s annual return lodged on Feb 3 last year.

It was reported that Azam’s name still appeared on the company’s register of shareholders at the Companies Commission of Malaysia.

This is said to be in breach of a 2024 government circular which states that civil servants may hold shares in Malaysian-incorporated companies only if the holdings do not exceed 5% of the paid-up capital or RM100,000 in value, whichever is lower.

No obligation to publicly declare assets

Azam maintained that he had complied with all disclosure requirements and that he had no legal obligation to make his asset declarations public.

“Why should I make it public? There’s no law and regulation (mandating that),” he said.

Responding to a Malaysiakini article claiming Azam had shares in another company, Awanbiru Technology Bhd, he said these were all sold last year.

“I have zero shares. No more,” he said.