The recent revelation by the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar that the police have completed the first phase of their investigation into 1MDB, and that the police probe is restricted to the five “non-existing” recommendations by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) as ordered by the cabinet, have reduced police investigation into 1MDB into a charade and a farce.
It raises many questions relating to the independence, impartiality, efficiency and professionalism of the Malaysian police, in particular whether the Malaysian police could rank as one of the world’s top police forces in terms of efficiency and professionalism.
For instance, can IGP Khalid order the police probe on 1MDB to investigate the US Department of Justice (DOJ)’s damning allegations of criminal conduct of the theft, embezzlement and money-laundering of multi-billion ringgit 1MDB funds or must he first get the “green light” from the Cabinet or the Prime Minister himself?
In the absence of such “greenlight” from the Cabinet or the Prime Minister himself, is the Malaysian police forced to resort to world-class play-acting pretending that the 136-page DOJ complaint of a litany of criminal conduct of theft, embezzlement and money-laundering of multi-billion ringgit of 1MDB funds simply does not exist – although some ten countries are independently investigating the global scandal of theft, embezzlement and money-laundering of multi-billion ringgit 1MDB funds?
Can Khalid enlighten Malaysians whether he had officially asked for such “green light” from the Cabinet or the Prime Minister for the Malaysian police probe into 1MDB to investigate the allegations of criminal conduct in the DOJ filings, or whether he had never asked for such approval knowing that it would not be forthcoming, whether from the Cabinet or the Prime Minister himself?
The unwarranted police arrest and three-day remand of three student activists, Muhammad Luqman Nul Hakim Zul Razali, Luqman Hakim and Ashraff Nazrin on Saturday for promoting #TangkapMalaysian Official1 rally at UiTM in Seri Iskandar in Perak has precipitated the question as to what should be the Police position with regard to the personality code-named “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” mentioned 36 times in the 136-page DOJ US$1 billion assets forfeiture lawsuits arising from the embezzlement and money-laundering of US$3.5 billion 1MDB funds.
Should the Malaysian Police be concerned as to who is “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” and should the Police co-operate with the #TangkapMalaysian Official1 campaign?
If DOJ’s damning allegations of criminal conduct against “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” are true, then “MO1” is a top criminal in Malaysia. How can the Malaysian Police be unconcerned and uninterested?
As pointed out by the Malaysian Bar President, Steven Thiru, it is untenable to hold that the DOJ document does not show that money has been misappropriated from 1MDB as the allegations of financial improprieties concerning 1MDB funds — described as having been “stolen, laundered through American financial institutions and used to enrich a few officials and their associates” — are referred to in no fewer than 193 paragraphs in the document.
Should’nt it be the responsibility of the Malaysian Police to find out who is “MO1” and who is actually the “mastermind” of the global 1MDB financial scandal – whether “MO1” or Penang billionaire Jho Low?
The DOJ complaint described three phases of 1MDB embezzlement and kleptocracy – 1) the Good Star Phase 2) the Aabar/BVI Phase and 3) the Tanore Phase, alleging that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” embezzled US$731 million via 1MDB. There is of a fourth phase, the SRC phase, which is not covered by DOJ action.
DOJ enumerated that in the first “Good Star” phase, over US$1 billion from September 2009 to 2011 were siphoned off from 1MDB to Good Star which belonged to Jho Low; in the second “Aabar/BVI phase” in 2012 approximately US$1.367 billion in 1MDB funds raised in two separate bond offerings were “misappropriated and fraudulently diverted” to bank accounts in Switzerland and Singapore controlled by Jho Low; and in the third “Tanore phase” in 2013 more than US$1.26 billion in 1MDB funds raised in a third bond offering were “misappropriated and fraudulently diverted” to bank accounts in Switzerland and Singapore controlled by Jho Low.
Out of the some US$3.6 billion 1MDB funds misappropriated in these three phases, US$731 million went to “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”’s personal banking accounts.
In refusing to launch a police investigation which could rebut these damning allegations, is the Malaysian Police accepting that there is a prima facie case for the DOJ allegations of criminal conduct in the theft, embezzlement and money-laundering of 1MDB funds, and the pre-eminent role played by “MO1” and Jho Low in such criminal conduct?
The Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Director and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of EPU, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan, has said that “only an idiot doesn’t know who that person was” as there is no secret who is Malaysian Official 1 (MO1) mentioned in the DOJ civil lawsuits.
Did the police interrogate Abdul Rahman Dahlan as to the identity of “MO1”?
Is the UMNO MP for Langkawi, Datuk Nawawi Ahmad an “idiot of idiots” to suggest that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is the Yang di Pertuan Agong?
This is one case where police inaction would speak volumes!