Sangeet Kaur Deo said the continued refusal to publish the findings only deepened public suspicion.

She said that Azam’s successor, Abdul Halim Aman, who officially began his duties yesterday, must not allow the matter “to slide into oblivion”.

“To restore public confidence, the new chief must release past findings to rebuild trust, rather than sustaining the perception of systemic corruption within the institution,” the Wanita DAP legal bureau chief said in a statement.

Sangeet had called for the government to release the findings earlier this month, saying further delay risked the perception that the appointment of a new MACC chief was “being used as a cover-up to bury the truth”.

In April, government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said the findings by the special committee would be made public “when the time comes”.

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

Azam was alleged to have breached a 2024 government circular limiting civil servants to holding no more than 5% of paid-up capital or RM100,000 in value, whichever is lower, in Malaysian-incorporated companies.

Azam said the transaction was declared and the shares were disposed of last year. His lawyers filed a lawsuit against Bloomberg over its report, seeking RM100 million in damages.

A separate Bloomberg report claimed that a network of businessmen and MACC officers used raids and investigations to pressure executives into selling shares in targeted companies, prompting calls for thorough, multi-agency investigations.

This claim was also dismissed by Azam.

Sangeet also took Azam to task over his parting remarks upon retirement, in which he reportedly described his critics as “problematic people”.

She said that much of the scrutiny against him arose from detailed investigative reporting.

“For a senior public official to respond in such a defensive and childish manner reflects poorly on the office he once held.”