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With general elections around the corner, it's no surprise that Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is eager to keep attention focused on positive news, such as his government's new anticorruption drive. But Kuala Lumpur is having trouble avoiding persistent questions about Malaysian involvement in the dealings of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the scientist pardoned two weeks ago in Pakistan for providing nuclear weapons technology to North Korea, Libya and Iran.

Abdullah's government and Washington disagree sharply on the importance of the materials traced to Malaysia: 14 centrifuge components manufactured outside Kuala Lumpur by a subsidiary of publicly listed engineering group Scomi Berhad. In a speech last week, U.S. President George W. Bush called the parts—the last shipment of which was seized en route to Libya last October—"advanced."

U.S. officials insist that the components—tubes made up of thousands of small pieces, according to a Scomi official—could only be used in a uranium-enrichment program. A Scomi spokeswoman insists that the company was told the parts were for the oil and gas industry.

More intriguing are questions surrounding the role of a Sri Lankan named B.S.A. Tahir, who was named by Bush last week as Khan's deputy and chief financial officer. Tahir, who declined comment when contacted by TIME, reportedly acted as the middleman in the centrifuge deal, negotiating the $3.5 million manufacturing contract for the controversial parts with Scomi, which is controlled through a holding company by Prime Minister Abdullah's only son, Kamaluddin Abdullah. But Tahir, currently in Malaysia, appears to be more than a middleman. TIME has learned that Tahir's wife, Malaysian national Nazimah binte Syed Majid, was one of three equal shareholders (including Kamaluddin) in the holding company, Kaspuda Sendirian Berhad, when it went public early last year. Sources familiar with the deal say Nazimah subsequently sold her shares to the Premier's son. Bush said that Tahir is "the network's chief ... money launderer." In Malaysia, Tahir has a more glittering reputation: his 1998 wedding in Kuala Lumpur was attended by a Who's Who of the city's élite.

• Simon Elegant and Mageswary Ramakhrishnan | Kuala Lumpur
• Questions persist over Malaysian involvement in Pakistan's nuclear proliferation scandal