Posted on

1MDB in default, declares Gulf fund

Leslie Lopez Regional Correspondent In Kuala Lumpur
Straits Times
19th April 2016

$4.7b bond raised by 1MDB thrown into limbo as KL-Abu Dhabi row escalates

The dispute between Abu Dhabi’s second-largest wealth fund and Malaysia’s state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad escalated yesterday after the Arab emirate group declared Kuala Lumpur’s fund was in default of a multibillion-dollar financial assistance arrangement.

The declaration by Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company, or IPIC, against 1MDB immediately throws into limbo a complex US$3.5 billion (S$4.7 billion) international bond the Malaysian fund raised in May 2012 with full, iron-clad guarantees from the tiny oil-rich emirate’s business entities.

And because of the protracted nature of the disagreement, financial executives tracking developments in the bitter feud say that international investors, who subscribed to the bonds that were arranged by international banking group Goldman Sachs, may have to wait a long time before they are compensated. Continue reading “1MDB in default, declares Gulf fund”

Posted on

Malaysia’s 1MDB defaults on US$1b loan, says Abu Dhabi fund

19 Apr 2016
Channel News Asia

An Abu Dhabi sovereign-wealth entity said on Monday that the Malaysian state fund 1MDB had defaulted on US$1.1 billion it owed in a new blow to the scandal-tainted company.

KUALA LUMPUR: An Abu Dhabi sovereign-wealth entity said on Monday (Apr 18) that the Malaysian state fund 1MDB had defaulted on US$1.1 billion it owed in a new blow to the scandal-tainted company.

The announcement, made in a filing to the London Stock Exchange by Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC), raised the spectre of Malaysian market turmoil if 1MDB is unable to dig out from under its huge debts.

1MDB, or 1Malaysia Development Berhad, was founded by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 but is now teetering on the verge of default amid multiple investigations around the world into allegations that billions were looted from it.

IPIC had agreed in 2012 to guarantee US$3.5 billion in 1MDB bonds, lend it more than a billion dollars, and make interest payments on the bonds.

In its statement, IPIC said 1MDB and its owner, Malaysia’s Finance Ministry, had failed to pay back more than US$1.1 billion they owed. “As a result, 1MDB and MOF are in default,” IPIC said. Continue reading “Malaysia’s 1MDB defaults on US$1b loan, says Abu Dhabi fund”

Posted on

Malaysia’s 1MDB at Risk of Default as Partner Ends Bond Support

Shamim Adam
Bloomberg
April 18, 2016

Malaysia’s troubled state investment company faces the threat of default after a dispute with an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund leaves bondholders waiting for an interest payment due Monday. 1MDB’s dollar bonds slumped.

Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co. said its obligations of financial support to 1Malaysia Development Bhd. have ended after the company and Malaysia’s finance ministry failed to pay it more than $1 billion, according to a stock exchange filing. IPIC, which agreed last year to pay interest for 1MDB bonds that it guaranteed, didn’t mention the Monday payment due.

1MDB said bondholders haven’t been paid, and didn’t say if it would do so. The Malaysian finance ministry said it had been informed by 1MDB of the dispute, and “wishes to make clear that it will continue to honor all of its outstanding commitments in the financial markets.”

Failure for either side to fulfill the debt obligation could result in the first default for 1MDB since its inception in 2009, deepening its troubles at a time when it’s the target of global investigations into allegations of money laundering and embezzlement. Authorities from the U.S. to Switzerland are trying to determine if some of the billions of dollars that 1MDB raised were siphoned out inappropriately. Continue reading “Malaysia’s 1MDB at Risk of Default as Partner Ends Bond Support”

Posted on

Malaysia’s 1MDB and Abu Dhabi Feud Over Coming Bond Payment

By BRADLEY HOPE and TOM WRIGHT
Wall Street Journal
April 18, 2016

Officials worry that a default could further undermine investor confidence in Malaysia

A dispute between sovereign-wealth funds from Malaysia and Abu Dhabi over missing billions of dollars is coming to a head and could roil currency and bond markets this week.

The funds are feuding over who must make a $50 million bond payment due Monday. Each is saying the other failed to meet its obligations and is refusing to pay, potentially setting off a chain reaction leading to billions of dollars of bond defaults.

The dispute is the latest chapter in the scandal involving 1Malaysia Development Bhd., known as 1MDB, which is under investigation in seven countries, including Malaysia. The Swiss Attorney General said he was investigating possible misappropriations of about $4 billion. Continue reading “Malaysia’s 1MDB and Abu Dhabi Feud Over Coming Bond Payment”

Posted on

Abu Dhabi’s IPIC says Malaysia’s 1MDB in default on June rescue deal

CNBC/Reuters
April 18, 2016

International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) said on Monday a June agreement to provide financial support to Malaysia’s 1MDB had been terminated after the troubled sovereign vehicle failed to meet obligations to the Abu Dhabi fund.

IPIC said in a bourse filing in London the Malaysian state fund and the Asian country’s Ministry of Finance had failed to meet obligations including to pay $1.1 billion plus interest and was now in default.

While the obligations of IPIC and its subsidiary, Aabar Investments, under the June agreement had now been terminated, the Abu Dhabi fund still expected the Malaysian side to honor its commitments. Continue reading “Abu Dhabi’s IPIC says Malaysia’s 1MDB in default on June rescue deal”

Posted on

Call on Adenan to honour the 1963 Malaysia Agreement which guarantees Malaysians the right to enter Sarawak for the sole purpose of engaging in legitimate political activity in the 11th Sarawak state elections

The barring of the DAP Political Bureau Director and MP for Kluang, Liew Chin Tong, from entering Sarawak today bespeaks of two things:

Firstly, the continued abuse of power in the country to deny to Malaysians the fundamental right of freedom of movement in their own country. This will make Malaysia another reason to be the laughing stock of the world where Malaysians dan visit Beijing, Moscow, Havana but not Kuching, Sibu or Miri.

DAP supports immigration autonomy for Sarawak and Sabah to protect the two states from being swamped by West Malaysians in the employment market, but this is not designed to deny to Malaysians the fundamental right of freedom to travel in their own country.

Section 67 of the Immigration Act 1963 makes it very clear that there should be no bar on Malaysians entering Sarawak for the sole purpose of engaging in legitimate political activity, and there is nothing which is more of a “legitimate political activity” than the 11th Sarawak state general elections.

This is why the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is a frequent traveller to Sarawak – to engage in legitimate political activity in the 11th Sarawak state general election on May 7. Continue reading “Call on Adenan to honour the 1963 Malaysia Agreement which guarantees Malaysians the right to enter Sarawak for the sole purpose of engaging in legitimate political activity in the 11th Sarawak state elections”

Posted on

AG Apandi should explain why he regards the Saudi Foreign Minister’s statement as gospel truth and is even prepared to rely on the “reported statement” by Saudi foreign minister to justify no further investigation on Najib’s RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal?

This is really flabbergasting. So keen is the Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali to exonerate the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak of any wrongdoing in the RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal that Malaysia’s Public Prosecutor is even prepared to rely on the Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir’s “reported statement” to declare that there is no need for further investigation into the RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal, without even waiting for confirmation that Al-Jubeir had indeed exonerated the Malaysian Prime Minister!

Apandi should explain why he is prepared to rely on the “reported statement” by the Saudi foreign minister that the billions of ringgit deposited into Najib’s personal banking accounts were “a genuine donation” from Saudi Arabia “with nothing expected in return” without even confirming that the Saudi foreign minister had in fact made such a statement?

Furthermore, is it of no consequence to the Attorney-General that Al-Jubeir had made a U-turn on the very same issue as in early February, the Saudi Foreign Minister had told New York Times that he did not think the RM2.6 billion deposited into Najib’s personal bank accounts was a political donation, or that it originated from the Saudi government?
Instead, Al-Jubeir said the money was from an unspecified “investment”, even saying that it was from “a private Saudi citizen”.

Did Apandi seek an explanation from Al-Jubeir for his U-turn statement on the very same issue in a matter of two short months, to find out the reason for such a sudden change of mind? Continue reading “AG Apandi should explain why he regards the Saudi Foreign Minister’s statement as gospel truth and is even prepared to rely on the “reported statement” by Saudi foreign minister to justify no further investigation on Najib’s RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal?”

Posted on

Switzerland widens its enquiries into Malaysia’s 1MDB

Economist
14th April 2016

Malaysia’s mega-scandal

One of the biggest controversies in Malaysian political history gets bigger

EARLIER this year authorities in Switzerland said they had begun criminal investigations into two former officials at 1MDB—a Malaysian state investment firm from which they believe some $4 billion may have been misappropriated through a series of deals struck between 2009 and 2013. On April 12th the Swiss said the scope of their enquiries was widening, and that they have now also opened files on two former public officials from the United Arab Emirates.

This latest escalation relates to a deal struck in 2012, in which IPIC, an Abu Dhabi state fund, agreed to guarantee bonds raised by 1MDB to purchase two power firms. 1MDB paid billions of dollars in collateral (and other monies linked to the guarantee) to a company registered in the British Virgin Islands, which bore a similar name to one of IPIC’s subsidiaries. But on April 11th IPIC issued a statement to the London Stock Exchange confirming rumours that it did not own the firm. Continue reading “Switzerland widens its enquiries into Malaysia’s 1MDB”

Posted on

Call on Sarawak voters to support DAP and Pakatan Harapan candidates as an appreciation for the life-long struggle of Wong Ho Leng and Karpal Singh for their commitment and sacrifices for a democratic and better Sarawak and Malaysia

Today is the second anniversary of the passing of DAP National Chairman, MP for Bukit Gelugor and life-long champion for democracy and human rights in Malaysia, Karpal Singh.

In another two months, we will sadly mark the second anniversary of the passing of another great Malaysian son who had also dedicated his life to promote democracy and human rights in Sarawak and Malaysia, as well as the constitutional rights of Sarawakians to autonomy in accordance with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 – Richard Wong Ho Leng, DAP Sarawak State Chairman and State Assemblymen for Bukit Assek.

This year marks the 38th anniversary of the formation of DAP in Sarawak and the 50th anniversary of the founding of the DAP in 1966.

For half a century, DAP leaders who have passed the test of time have proven that we are a breed of political leaders who are in politics not because of wealth, position or glory but because of our political convictions and ideals, even when we are subject to trials and tribulations like detention without trial, selective prosecution and persecution, protracted character-assassination in the mainstream media, etc. Continue reading “Call on Sarawak voters to support DAP and Pakatan Harapan candidates as an appreciation for the life-long struggle of Wong Ho Leng and Karpal Singh for their commitment and sacrifices for a democratic and better Sarawak and Malaysia”

Posted on

Poor Abdul Rahman Dahlan – he had to be saved by SPRM and IGP from a debate with Guan Eng which will confirm the truism that ‘empty vessel makes the most noise’

There are many events happening in the country which seem to be remote from Sarawak and unrelated to the 11th Sarawak state general election which will be held on May 7.

In actual fact, on deeper reflection, one would realise these developments have intimate relationship with the 11th Sarawak state general elections, whether the latest developments in the first global scandal in the country, the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal and all the acrobatics which are being performed every day in furtherance of the media scam that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has nothing to do with Malaysia’s first global scandal, or even the cancellation of the debate that should be telecast live next Wednesday by TV3 between DAP Secretarg-General and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and the Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Director and Minister for Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan.

In fact, all the hoo-ha and the allegations against Guan Eng for corruption in connection with his RM2.8 million bungalow purchase is not unrelated to the Sarawak state general election! Continue reading “Poor Abdul Rahman Dahlan – he had to be saved by SPRM and IGP from a debate with Guan Eng which will confirm the truism that ‘empty vessel makes the most noise’”

Posted on

Najib’s media strategists want to have a second bite of the cherry after the first abysmal failure of the media scam to create the myth and image that PAC Report on 1MDB exonerated Najib from any wrongdoing

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is badly served by his coterie of astronomically-paid media strategists, who want to have a second bite of the cherry after the first abysmal failure of their media scam to create the myth and image that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Report on the 1MDB had exonerated Najib from any wrongdoing in the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal.

This elaborately-structured media edifice collapsed like a house of cards when four days after the PAC Report on 1MDB was tabled in Parliament without debate, Abu Dhabi’s state-owned International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) issued a statement to the London Stock Exchange that neither itself nor its unit Aabar Investments PJS have any links to British Virgin Islands-incorporated firm Aabar Investments PJS Limited, which was paid a least USD3.5 billion by 1MDB.

Was the astronomical sum of USD3.5 billion paid by 1MDB to a phoney company by mistake or by design – making it Malaysia’s first global financial scandal? Continue reading “Najib’s media strategists want to have a second bite of the cherry after the first abysmal failure of the media scam to create the myth and image that PAC Report on 1MDB exonerated Najib from any wrongdoing”

Posted on

Call on Adenan to lead Sarawak BN to an election victory which will be the result of clean, free, fair and democratic elections which could be the pride of Malaysia and the world

I flew from kLIA to Miri this morning with the DAP National Organising Secretary and MP for Seremban, Anthony Loke, to carry out legitimate political activities n Sarawak, i.e. the 11th Sarawak State General Elections, as guaranteed by the Malaysian Constitution, the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the 18 Points, but Anthony Loke became the latest victim of a gross abuse of power when he was not allowed to enter Sarawak and was sent back to KLIA on the same Air Asia flight back.

Loke joins a long list of DAP, PKR and Amanah leaders/MPs who have been denied their constitutional right to carry out legitimate political activities in Sarawak in the 11th state general election – a list which includes DAP leaders/MPs like National Vice Chairman and MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok, DAP National Publicity Secretary Tony Pua (MP PJ Utara); Asst National Publicity Secretary Teo Nie Ching (MP for Kulai); PKR National Chairmen Nurul Izzah Anwar (MP Lembah Pantai), Tian Chua (MP Batu), Rafizi Ramli (Pandan), Shamsul Iskandar (MP Bukit Katil) and PKR MPs like Zuraida Kamaruddin (Ampang) and Sim Sze Tsin (Bayan Baru) and Parti Amanah President Mohamad Sabu. Continue reading “Call on Adenan to lead Sarawak BN to an election victory which will be the result of clean, free, fair and democratic elections which could be the pride of Malaysia and the world”

Posted on

Will 2016 Sarawak GE herald great changes in Malaysia’s 14GE as happened in two previous 2006 and 2011 Sarawak state elections, or will Adenan succeed in crushing DAP and Pakatan Harapan as he is hoping to do?

For the past 10 years, Sarawak had been both the barometer and the vanguard of political change in Malaysia.

DAP’s breakthrough win of six State Assembly seats in the 2006 Sarawak GE heralded the “political tsunami” in the 12th GE in Malaysian parliamentary elections in 2008 which saw the Barisan Nasional losing power in five states – Penang, Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Kelantan.

DAP’s doubling from six to 12 State Assembly seats in the 2011 Sarawak GE heralded the 13th GE in Malaysian parliamentary elections in 2013, which should have toppled Barisan Nasional from Putrajaya as Pakatan Rakyat won 53% of the popular vote, but because of an unfair and undemocratic electoral system, Datuk Seri Najib Razak became the first minority Prime Minister in Malaysia.

What will happen in the May 7, 2016 Sarawak state elections, and what has it in store for the 14th GE in Malaysian parliamentary elections which must be held by 2018?

There are both certainties and imponderables in the 11th Sarawak State General Elections on May 7. Continue reading “Will 2016 Sarawak GE herald great changes in Malaysia’s 14GE as happened in two previous 2006 and 2011 Sarawak state elections, or will Adenan succeed in crushing DAP and Pakatan Harapan as he is hoping to do?”

Posted on

PAC should reconvene and present new findings on 1MDB based on three factors: (i) reconsideration of PAC Report on 1MDB; (ii) London Stock Exchange statement that Aabar Ltd BVI is phoney company; (iii) summon important witnesses omitted in PAC investigations

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) should reconvene and present new findings on 1MDB based on three factors: firstly, reconsideration of PAC Report on 1MDB; secondly, the London Stock Exchange statement that British Virgin Islands-incorporated Aabar Investments PJS Limited (Aabar BVI) has no links with the Abu Dhabi-state owned International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) or its subsidiary Aabar Investments PJS and that neither of them have received US$3.5 billion which 1MDB had paid to Aabar BVI; and thirdly, summoning important witnesses omitted in PAC investigations.

I say reconsideration of the PAC Report on 1MDB because the host of 1MDB scams, mismanagements, dubious loans and transactions do not just demand that the 1MDB former CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and others in the management should be held responsible for the first global corruption in the nation’s history, but all fingers in the PAC Report point to a final authority and decision-maker higher than Shahrol.

This is because there are four tiers of management authority in 1MDB, namely the Advisory Board, the Board of Directors and the Top Management, but over and above all these three tiers of management, is the fourth and most vital tier – the Prime Minister who by virtue of Article 117 of 1MDB Memorandum and Articles of Association (M&A) is the ultimate authority who exercised final direct control of 1MDB.

Article 117 of the 1MDB M & A requires all major decisions of the company involving financial commitment (including investment) and restructuring to have the written authorization from the Prime Minister, it is the Prime Minister who is the most important player in 1MDB, exceeding the role of the Advisory Board, the Board of Directors and the Top Management all added together. Continue reading “PAC should reconvene and present new findings on 1MDB based on three factors: (i) reconsideration of PAC Report on 1MDB; (ii) London Stock Exchange statement that Aabar Ltd BVI is phoney company; (iii) summon important witnesses omitted in PAC investigations”

Posted on

Hasan should convene emergency PAC meeting to ask Arul Kanda to explain why he should not be referred to Committee of Privileges next month for lying to PAC claiming that Aabar Investments PJS Ltd (Aabar BVI) was related to Aabar Investment PJS

The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Datuk Hasan Arifin should convene an emergency PAC meeting to ask the 1MDB President and CEO, Arul Kanda Kandasamy to explain why he should not be referred to the Committee of Privileges next month for lying and claiming to the PAC that Aabar Investments PJS Ltd (Aabar BVI) was related to Aabar Investment PJS.

Within four days of the tabling of the PAC Report on 1MDB last Thursday, Arul Kanda’s lie to the PAC in his testimony on 18th December 2015 was exposed when the Abu Dhabi’s state-owned International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) told the London Stock Exchange in a statement on Monday that neither itself nor its unit Aabar Investments PJS have any links to British Virgin Islands-incorporated firm Aabar Investments PJS Limited which was paid RM4.24 billion (about US$1.367 billion) by 1MDB as security deposit in 2012.

This is the fastest result for any PAC Report in the nation’s 59-year parliamentary history, and the five Opposition PAC members have been fully vindicated for signing the PAC Report on 1MDB although it did not go as far as it should in its findings and conclusions.

One other important thing which the PAC Report on 1MDB had achieved as a result of the signing of the five Opposition PAC members – Deputy PAC Chairman Dr. Tan Seng Giaw (Kepong), Dato’ Kamarul Baharin Abas (Telok Kemang), William Leong (Selayang), Dato’ Takiyuddin Hassan (Kota Bahru) and Tony Pua (PJ Utara) – was the admission by the Najib administration of the hosts of 1MDB scams, mismanagements, dubious loans and transactions in the past seven year which until last Thursday had been dismissed as speculative and unverified allegations by irresponsible, biased or even Jewish/Zionist-inspired journalists in hostile foreign newspapers like Wall Street Journal (WSJ), New York Times, Financial Times or unreliable websites like Sarawak Report. Continue reading “Hasan should convene emergency PAC meeting to ask Arul Kanda to explain why he should not be referred to Committee of Privileges next month for lying to PAC claiming that Aabar Investments PJS Ltd (Aabar BVI) was related to Aabar Investment PJS”

Posted on

Malaysia on the wrong track

Opinion
THE AUSTRALIAN
APRIL 14, 2016

Malaysia’s use of its colonial-era Sedition Act to frame possible charges against former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad following his interview with The Weekend Australian is a worrying sign of the extent to which democracy, civil rights and stability are under threat in one of the most important countries in our region. Dr Mahathir, 90, was Malaysian prime minister for 22 years from 1981 to 2003. But that has not saved him from the ire of the incumbent Prime Minister, Najib Razak. Mr Najib is fighting for political survival amid the $1 billion 1MDB sovereign wealth fund corruption scandal. Although he was widely regarded as Mr Najib’s mentor, Dr Mahathir is now fiercely critical of Mr Najib, demanding his removal from office.

In his recorded interview with our Southeast Asia correspondent Amanda Hodge, Dr Mahathir argued “foreign interference” was needed to oust Mr Najib, saying: “Normally I don’t like foreign interference in Malaysia’s affairs but our avenues for redress have been closed completely. So now we have to allow interference in our domestic affairs.” Under pressure, Dr Mahathir has since sought to qualify those remarks, saying he did not ask for foreign governments to interfere. But that has not pacified Mr Najib. Continue reading “Malaysia on the wrong track”

Posted on

From Syria to Malaysia: Tentacles of Terror Are Spreading

Phill Hynes
Frontera News
11.4.2016

Despite having Asia’s second-largest Muslim population, Malaysia’s contribution to Islamic State has gone largely unnoticed. That may be about to change – with potentially dire implications for the country’s tourism-driven economy.

Recently Britain issued a very specific caution to its citizens: Avoid all but essential travel to the island resorts off Malaysia’s eastern Sabah province.

Then, three days later, Australia warned of potential terrorist attacks in and around Kuala Lumpur.

Faced with a direct financial hit on its all-important tourism industry, the local reaction was to downplay. “Malaysia is safe from any threats including terrorism,” said Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Aziz. “There are no indications of an imminent attack on the capital”, assured Kuala Lumpur’s Police Chief Datuk Tajuddin Md Isa.

So what prompted two foreign governments to suddenly issue terrorism warnings in one of Southeast Asia’s most popular tourism destinations? Continue reading “From Syria to Malaysia: Tentacles of Terror Are Spreading”

Posted on

Malaysia’s 1MDB Fund Says It May Be Victim of $3.5 Billion Fraud

Shamim Adam
Bloomberg
April 13, 2016

1Malaysia Development Bhd., the troubled Malaysian state fund that’s the subject of global investigations, said it could be a victim of fraud if payments of $3.5 billion intended for an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund never made it there.

Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co. this week denied ownership of a company that received the funds known as Aabar Investments PJS Limited or Aabar BVI. Swiss authorities said on Tuesday they are investigating two former public officials from the United Arab Emirates, who handled Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds that guaranteed 1MDB bonds.

“Given the recent denial by IPIC and the announcement by the Office of the Attorney-General of Switzerland, indicating that 1MDB could be a victim of fraud, 1MDB is exploring all avenues open to us,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Authorities from the U.S. to Switzerland and Singapore are trying to determine if some of the billions of dollars that 1MDB raised were siphoned out inappropriately. 1MDB, whose advisory board is headed by Prime Minister Najib Razak, amassed more than 50 billion ringgit ($12.9 billion) of debt over six years, using some of it to buy energy assets, including joint ventures with companies in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. Continue reading “Malaysia’s 1MDB Fund Says It May Be Victim of $3.5 Billion Fraud”

Posted on

Swiss widen corruption investigation into Malaysia’s 1MDB fund

Guardian
Agence France-Presse
Wednesday 13 April 2016

The state-owned fund is linked to PM Najib Razak, with two suspects indicted over an alleged phony bond deal

Switzerland has widened its corruption probe into a Malaysian state-owned fund linked to prime minister Najib Razak, with two new suspects indicted over an alleged phony bond deal.

The Swiss attorney general’s office (OAG) said the new suspects – who are accused of fraud, bribery and other offences – are officials from the United Arab Emirates who were in charge of sovereign funds based in Abu Dhabi.

In a statement, the OAG said it had evidence that the management of the 1MDB fund violated Swiss embezzlement laws through a fraudulent bond agreement with the UAE officials, with money routed through Swiss banks.

Allegations that billions were looted from 1MDB in a vast campaign of fraud have shaken Najib’s government.

The scandal intensified last week when a Malaysian parliamentary committee clearly suggested misconduct had occurred, in the first condemnation from an official body in Kuala Lumpur. Continue reading “Swiss widen corruption investigation into Malaysia’s 1MDB fund”

Posted on

Malaysia fund 1MDB’s payment to Abu Dhabi fund IPIC may have ended up in the movie business

Leslie Shaffer
CNBC.com
13th April 2016

The trail of breadcrumbs from a troubled Malaysian state investment fund took another twist Tuesday when Swiss authorities said some of the money ended up in the movie business.

On Monday, an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC), and its subsidiary Aabar Investments PJS, said that they never received $3.5 billion in payments from troubled 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The payments were related to a guarantee for a bond placed by Goldman Sachs.

Instead, the payments appear to have been sent to a nearly identically named firm registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Aabar Investments PJS Ltd.

Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General said on Tuesday that as part of its criminal investigation of suspected embezzlement from 1MDB, it was extending its probe to two former officials in charge of Abu Dhabi sovereign funds. Continue reading “Malaysia fund 1MDB’s payment to Abu Dhabi fund IPIC may have ended up in the movie business”