Category: Financial Scandals

The two latest whistleblowing feats of website Sarawak Report have raised the disturbing question whether the Malaysian Parliament is the first in the world to be denied the opportunity and materials to decide whether its Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had done a proper and competent job, in its inquiry into the RM55 billion 1MDB scandal.

Yesterday, Sarawak Report published some of the contents of what it claimed was the Auditor-General’s report on 1MDB, which was submitted to the PAC on March 4 and was the basis of the PAC Report on 1MDB presented to Parliament on April 7, but the AG’s Report on 1MDB was not tabled in Parliament on the ground that it was classified under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

Sarawak Report listed out the various concerns that auditor-general Tan Sri Ambrin Buang had pointed out in his report, especially with regard to several questionable fund transfers.

Sarawak Report said it will publish more details from the auditor-general’s report in the coming days.

Today, Sarawak Report made the revelation of another key document in the PAC probe on 1MDB, a letter from Bank Negara Malaysia to the PAC Chairman, Datuk Seri Hasan Arifin, related to its correspondence which among other things, confirmed Penang billionaire Jho Low was the sole owner of Good Star Limited, which had received US$1.03 billion from 1MDB. Continue reading “The two latest whistleblowing feats of Sarawak Report raised the disturbing question whether Malaysian Parliament is the first in the world to be denied opportunity and materials to decide whether its PAC had done a proper and competent job, viz the inquiry into a RM55 billion 1MDB scandal”

Three days after his appointment as the new Second Finance Minister, Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani said he has made 1MDB one of his priorities and pledged to resolve the state investment fund’s problems transparently.

He promised that the government would address the issues raised in the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) report on 1MDB and said: “What had been raised in PAC report – whatever or whoever that caused (problems in) 1MDB – definitely action will be taken.

It speaks volumes that the new Second Finance Minister should be making such an assurance about the PAC Report on 1MDB which was submitted to Parliament on April 7, which could only mean that the Finance Ministry has yet to take seriously the recommendations of the PAC report although it had been made public for nearly three months on a financial scandal which had catapulted Malaysia to world attention for global corruption?

This is most shocking especially when the PAC Report on 1MDB only revealed the “tip of the iceberg” of the financial chicanery and fraud and global embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption which is now the subject of investigation by seven other countries, but despite its weak and minor recommendations, the Finance Ministry has yet to take full action to implement the PAC recommendations after the passage of nearly three months.

This shows that the Finance Ministry does not have the political will or capability to resolve the RM55 billion 1MDB global scandal and ensure full accountability to who is responsible, for the simple reason that the person who must bear the greatest responsibility of the nation’s first global scandal is none other than the Finance Minister himself – who happens to be the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Continue reading “Why is Johari playing the old record about resolving the 1MDB issue “transparently” when the Finance Minister himself is not prepared to make any such commitment or the 1MDB issue would be behind the country long ago?”

Simon Rowe
Irish Independent
19/06/2016

When a Wall Street star left under a cloud, the ‘smoking gun’ was a letter destined for our bad bank

A senior ex-Goldman Sachs banker who quit the Wall Street firm after being investigated over a falsified assurance letter – which, it is believed, he had sent to a European bank to assist a Malaysian tycoon’s bid to purchase property from Nama – has become embroiled in a $6bn global embezzlement probe.

Tim Leissner, who had close ties to the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB and was considered Goldman Sach’s point man in Singapore dealing with the fund, was interviewed on January 19 this year in relation to “inaccurate and unauthorised statements” made by him in a June 2015 reference letter.

According to filings with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the US securities industry’s self-regulating body, the letter was written without Goldman Sach’s knowledge or approval.

Sources close to the case said Leissner’s letter had included details about the finances of his client, who is believed to be well-known Malaysian tycoon Jho Low, while overstating the extent to which Goldman Sachs had done due diligence on him.

The letter, which vouched for Low and his finances to a financial institution in Europe, was to be used to help Low reach a deal to buy real estate from the National Asset Management Agency, it is believed. Continue reading “Goldman Sachs, a ‘Nama letter’ and the links to a $6bn fraud probe”

by John Letzing
Wall Street Journal
June 23, 2016

BSI says Finma actions are “unlawful” and “disproportionate”

ZURICH—BSI SA, a Swiss bank embroiled in the legal controversy surrounding Malaysian state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd., said on Thursday that it is appealing “flawed” actions taken against it by Switzerland’s financial regulator.

The Swiss regulator, Finma, issued a sternly worded statement in May, saying that BSI had committed “serious” breaches of money-laundering regulations in its dealings with the Malaysian fund, 1MDB, and had executed a number of large transactions for the fund “despite clearly suspicious indications.” Finma ordered BSI to pay 95 million Swiss francs ($99 million) in profits tied to its business with 1MDB to Switzerland’s public coffers.

Finma also said it was starting enforcement proceedings against two unidentified former managers at the Lugano-based bank.

On Thursday, BSI said Finma’s communication about actions taken against the bank “has severely harmed the reputation of the bank and its employees.” BSI added that it “challenges Finma’s assessment of the facts, and holds that the measures [Finma] ordered are unlawful and disproportionate.”

BSI said it has lodged its appeal with the Swiss Federal Administrative Court. A BSI spokesman declined to comment further on what remedies the bank is seeking.

A Finma spokesman said that its decisions can be challenged and are subject to judicial review, and declined to comment further. Continue reading “BSI Appealing Swiss Regulator Actions Against It Over 1MDB”

The 1MDB Colloquium held in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar on 11th and 12th June 2016 respectively, which was graced by many distinguished speakers have raised many pertinent issues with regards to the Government’s complete lack of accountability with 1MDB.

The recent global developments over 1MDB made it even more imperative for Dato’ Seri Najib Razak to explain what he has refused to explain for more than a year.

We, the undersigned, are citizens of Malaysia demanding clear and direct answers by the Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak and his Cabinet on the following pressing questions on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and Najib’s US$1 billion deposits into his personal bank account:

1. Who will pay if 1MDB loses the arbitration case with Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC)?

On 14 June 2016, IPIC has filed its US$6.5 billion worth of claims against 1MDB in London’s Arbitration Court. IPIC is seeking US$3.5 billion bond plus interest that amounts to US$4.8 billion, the US$1.2 billion loan plus interest, and about US$481 million owed to its subsidiary, Aabar Investment PJS.

The above claims followed the discovery that 1MDB has made as much as US$3.5 billion of payments to a fraudulent British Virgin Island incorporated entity, Aabar Investment PJS Limited, which IPIC has denied ownership. Continue reading “Citizens’ Demands on 1MDB and Najib’s US$1 billion “donation””

Another world recognition for Wall Street Journal’s (WSJ) reporting on the 1MDB global scandal in Malaysia is another nail in the coffin of Malaysia as the new kleptocracy in global society.

In fact, the Society of Publishers in Asia (Sopa) awards for WSJ and its Asian edition economics editor Tom Wright for their investigative reports on the 1MDB scandal is “a slap in the face” and as good as an international vote of no confidence in Najib as Prime Minister.

Unless the Prime Minister himself can conduct town-hall meetings in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar these two days and give full and satisfactory accounting on the nations’ first global financial scandals – the RM55 billion 1MDB and RM4.2 billion “donation” twin scandals – and why there had been a string of adverse international developments and censures for Malaysia over the 1MDB’s global embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption, the voters of Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections on Saturday should stand up and speak with one voice on behalf of 30 million Malaysians to reject the UMNO candidates to send a clear and unmistakable message, viz:

“Enough is Enough. Malaysians have enough of the endless adverse international developments over the 1MDB scandal and want Najib to bring a closure to all the allegations of 1MDB embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption before the 59th National Day on August 31, 2016 or he should step down as Prime Minister on the 59th National Day!” Continue reading “The SOPA awards for WSJ and Tom Wright for their investigative reports on the 1MDB scandal is “a slap in the face” and as good as an international vote of no confidence in Najib as Prime Minister”

The unprecedented appearance of the 1MDB president and executive director Arul Kanda in Sungai Besar is a triple admission – the impact of the Colloquium on 1MDB scandak in Sekinchan last Saturday which was opened by former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the lack and loss of credibility of government explanation on the 1MDB global scandal as well as the 1MDB impact on Saturday’s by-elections.

The 1MDB president and executive director’s programme in Sungai Besar showed that Arul Kanda’s job is more a PR one than to really solve the global financial scandal, especially as it is the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself who is sitting on top of the mountain of 1MDB debts and problems since the very start of the so-called national sovereign fund some seven years ago.

Why is Arul Kanda acting like “a thief in the night” refusing to comment when asked by the press whether he was campaigning for UMNO/Barisan Nasional in the Sungai Besar by-election, when his job should be to resolve Malaysia’s greatest global financial scandal in the nation’s history?

As 1MDB is a 100% government company, Arul Kanda is finally paid from the taxpayers’ monies and no more than a public servant.

As such, he should owe his loyalty to the 30 million Malaysians and not just to his formal employers – the 1MDB, the Ministry of Finance or the Prime Minister himself.

Can we expect Arul to give the 30 million Malaysians, who are his final employers, a full and unvarnished account of the woes of 1MDB, and how a “strategic” national sovereign fund should end up in such pathetic straits, threatening to drag the country to precedented debts and economic woes and liabilities? Continue reading “Arul Kanda’s unprecedented appearance in Sungai Besar a triple admission of the impact of the Colloquium on 1MDB scandal in Sekinchan, the lack and loss of credibility of government explanation on 1MDB scandal as well as 1MDB impact on Saturday’s by-elections”

by Shamim Adam
Bloomberg
June 14, 2016

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, embroiled in a debt payment dispute with 1Malaysia Development Bhd., is seeking $6.5 billion from the troubled Malaysian state investment company as it moves the spat into arbitration.

1MDB and its sole shareholder — Malaysia’s Ministry of Finance — haven’t perform their obligations toward International Petroleum Investment Co. PJSC, the Abu Dhabi fund said in a London stock exchange filing on Tuesday. IPIC and unit Aabar Investments PJS submitted the request to the London Court of International Arbitration, it said.

The Malaysian investment fund and IPIC are locked in a tussle that spilled over to repayments on bonds issued by 1MDB. That led to a default in April, adding to the financial scandals for the Malaysian company that’s already a target of global probes into alleged money laundering and embezzlement. 1MDB has denied wrongdoing. Continue reading “IPIC Seeks $6.5 Billion From 1MDB, Malaysia in Arbitration”

The RM55 billion 1MDB global financial scandal, which included Najib’s RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal, is like a giant octopus with its eight tentacles wrapped so tightly around the country’s key personalities and institutions that Malaysia can only free and save itself if it could escape the strangling embrace of the giant octopus.

The Second Colloquium on 1MDB scandal is to explore how to bring a closure to the nation’s first global scandal, which had been hounding and haunting the country for the past six years.

I can envision the eight victims which are caught in the suffocating embrace of the eight tentacles of the giant 1MDB octopus, viz:

1. the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak;

2. UMNO whose leadership at the national, state and even divisional levels have been co-opted or compromised;

3. MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other Barisan Nasional component parties which is why no MCA, Gerakan or MIC Minister or leader dare to have a confrontation with the UMNO leadership over the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said’s Ministerial motion in Parliament on May 26 to fast-track Hadi’s hudud motion or to requisition an emergency meeting of Barisan Nasional Supreme Council with the dual objective to firstly, restore the status quo ante by reaffirming the Barisan Nasional’s 43-year consensus that hudud is against the Malaysian Constitution and not suitable for multi-religious Malaysia and secondly, to repudiate and sack Azalina for her Ministerial motion which violated BN spirit and consensus.

4. PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang, the only opposition leader to come to the defence of Najib over the RM55 billion 1MDB scandal. As a result, Hadi has moved closer to Hadi, resulting in the Najib-Hadi plot of Hadi’s hudud bill in Parliament on May 26. Continue reading “Call for a “1MDB Giant Octopus Tribunal” as the RM55 billion 1MDB global financial scandal is like a giant octopus with its eight tentacles wrapped so tightly around the country’s personalities and institutions that Malaysia can only free and save itself if it could escape the strangling embrace of the giant octopus”

When DAP PJ Utara Member of Parliament and Public Accounts Committee, Tony Pua, spoke just now about the failures of the various national institutions in the 1MDB scandal, whether Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Bank Negara, the Police, Attorney-General’s Chambers or even the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), I thought about the three-day interrogation spanning some 23 hours of the Penang Chief Minister and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng by MACC officers in connection with the corruption allegations about his RM2.8 million bungalow.

If Najib is given the same MACC treatment as Guan Eng in connection with the corruption allegation for his RM2.8 million bungalow, the Prime Minister would be questioned 12.3 years for his RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal.

This is because Najib’s RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal is 1,500 times bigger than Guan Eng’s RM2.8 million bungalow allegation, and if Najib is given the same MACC treatment as Guan Eng where the Penang Chief Minister was questioned for three days, Najib will have to be questioned 1,500 x 3 days, yielding 4,500 days. This works out to 12.3 years – imagine Najib going in and out of MACC office to be questioned for 12 years and four months, from wake up in the morning to retirement for sleep at night, and doing nothing else!

Another panelist, journalist P. Gunasegaram spoke about the 1MDB embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption offences being instituted in foreign countries, and how it is most surreal that in Malaysia, we continue the pretense that these almost daily 1MDB developments all over the world do not exist.

This seems to be the success of the global cover-up of the 1MDB global financial scandal, but it is something which is not sustainable and cannot last. Continue reading “If Najib is given the same MACC treatment as Guan Eng in connection with corruption allegation for RM2.8 million bungalow, the Prime Minister would be questioned for 12.3 years for his RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal”

What has the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Raak or the Prime Minister’s Office got to say on Wall Street Journal’s correction to say that the US$3 billion bond fund raised by Goldman Sachs went to BSI Bank in Switzerland and not Singapore, and part of it eventually landed in Najib’s personal bank accounts?

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has issued a correction, stating that the US$3 billion bond fund Goldman Sachs raised for 1MDB went to BSI Bank in Switzerland and not Singapore as initially reported.

In its correction, WSJ said its article earlier had “incorrectly stated the money was sent to 1MDB’s account at the private bank’s Singapore branch”.

The WSJ stood by the allegation that part of the US$3 billion sent to Switzerland (and not Singapore) ended up in offshore accounts that eventually landed in Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s personal bank accounts. Continue reading “What has Najib or PMO got to say on WSJ’s correction to say that the US$3 billion bond fund raised by Goldman Sachs went to BSI Bank in Switzerland and not Singapore, and part of it eventually landed in Najib’s personal bank accounts?”

By WILLIAM PESEK
Barron’s Asia
June 8, 2016

Goldman Sachs finds itself ensnared in the 1MDB scandal which threatens to squeeze the nation’s credit rating.

Goldman Sachs is sharing its giant vampire squid with Najib Razak’s government in Malaysia.

The investment colossus has found itself at the scene of many a scandal – a financial Forrest Gump, if you will. From U.S. Treasury bidding probes to Greece’s debt crisis to the subprime meltdown, Goldman’s bankers were there reaping fortunes behind the scenes. In a 2009 Rolling Stone piece, Matt Tiabbi famously branded it “a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.”

Make that Malaysia, too. As the Wall Street Journal reports, U.S. officials are probing whether Goldman broke the law by not alerting authorities about dodgy dealings at state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

It’s the latest reminder of how Prime Minister Najib’s 1MDB mess is wrapping its tentacles around an entire nation. The unpredictable ways in which it threatens to drag Southeast Asia’s third-biggest economy under, like some massive vampire squid, can be seen in Putrajaya’s balance sheet. Could it even lead to a credit downgrade? Continue reading “A Self-Inflicted Downgrade for Malaysia?”