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‘Grand larceny in 1MDB’

by Tommy Thomas
Malaysiakini
26.7.2016

COMMENT The might of the most powerful nation in the world has been brought to bear to investigate, uncover and institute legal proceedings to forfeit assets purchased through money stolen from proceeds of bonds sales by 1MDB.

The combined efforts of three US agencies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), with the assistance of law enforcement agencies in other countries, have produced the most complete, holistic picture of the great fraud perpetrated by Jho Low and his co-conspirators to defraud the people of Malaysia of billions of ringgit ultimately belonging to them.

The 136-page, 513-paragraph ‘Verified Complaint for Forfeiture in Rem’ is a tour de force. The people of Malaysia, suffering under a state of powerlessness and helplessness, owe an immeasurable debt to the sterling work carried out by truly independent institutions in the United States. Continue reading “‘Grand larceny in 1MDB’”

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Malaysia Won’t Interfere With Foreign 1MDB Legal Action

By YANTOULTRA NGUI
Wall Street Journal
July 26, 2016

Government won’t protect citizens, senior government official says

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—The Malaysian government won’t protect citizens from legal action taken outside the country stemming from the scandal surrounding state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd., a senior government official said Tuesday.

Johari Abdul Ghani, who is second in command in the Finance Ministry under Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is also finance minister, said that the 1MDB scandal served as a “very expensive lesson’’ for the Southeast Asian country.

“As far as the government of Malaysia is concerned, any individuals that basically have committed any offense in any countries outside Malaysia, the Malaysian government will not protect them,” Mr. Johari told reporters. “We want them to face the due legal process. That is the commitment of the government.” Continue reading “Malaysia Won’t Interfere With Foreign 1MDB Legal Action”

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AG’s Chambers had acknowledged “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is PM Najib in its Q&A today on its Internet portal on the DOJ suit, but it has failed to rebut DOJ case that US$681 million in Najib’s personal account was from 1MDB through Tanore account and not from any Arab royalty

One year ago on 25th July 2015, Kuala Lumpur was awash with rumours that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak was about to be charged in court for corruption arising from 1MDB and RM2.6 billion “donation” twin mega scandals.

I found such rumours quite incredulous as how the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak with his intelligence networks could be unaware of such rampant grapevine talk and was doing nothing about the situation.

But three days later, “The Empire Struck Back”, starting with the then Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail, who was told early in the morning of Tuesday, July 28, 2015 when he went to his office that he had been sacked, followed by the sacking of the then Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Senior Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, and a series of other actions to clamp or close down investigations into the 1MDB and RM2.6 billion (which later turned out to be RM4.2 billion) donation mega scandals – like the dissolution of the high-level Special Task Force on 1MDB; the derailment of PAC investigations into 1MDB; the arrest, immediate transfer and intimidation of top officials of the national investigative and enforcement agencies in the country like the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Police, Bank Negara and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. Continue reading “AG’s Chambers had acknowledged “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is PM Najib in its Q&A today on its Internet portal on the DOJ suit, but it has failed to rebut DOJ case that US$681 million in Najib’s personal account was from 1MDB through Tanore account and not from any Arab royalty”

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The Malay Shame and Tragedy That Is 1MDB

by Bakri Musa
26.7.2016

Imagine had Prime Minister Najib Razak responded differently to the US Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture lawsuit and said instead, “I have instructed my Foreign Minister to seek clarification to determine who this “Malaysian Official 1” so we could investigate him. I have also directed the Attorney General to review the evidence in the DOJ complaint.”

As for 1MDB, imagine if its spokesman had responded, “We view with deep concern allegations that assets meant for our company, a public trust, had been corruptly diverted. We seek clarification on who 1MDB Officials 1 and 2 are to make sure that they are no longer in our employ. We will review our policies to ensure that such pilferages as alleged by DOJ if they did occur will not recur. Additionally, we are engaging legal counsel to protect our interests in the American trial.”

Instead, what Malaysians and the world heard last Wednesday were irrelevant and meaningless statements to the effect that neither Najib nor 1MDB are the defendants in the suit. True and obvious, needing no response or clarification. The defendants are the owners of those seized assets which are alleged to have been acquired with funds corruptly siphoned from 1MDB, a GLC of which Najib is the Chairman.

The responses from Najib, his ministers, and 1MDB only brought shame to themselves, to Malays, and to Malaysia. Continue reading “The Malay Shame and Tragedy That Is 1MDB”