Is the Najib camp trying to ingratiate with the new Trump team by alleging that the US DOJ suit on 1MDB was part of US AG Loretta Lynch’s conspiracy to divert attention from Hilary Clinton’s email controversy and should be abandoned by the Trump administration?

Two recent events seem to mark a new “offensive” by the Najib administration on the 1MDB global embezzlement and money-laundering scandal, viz:

• Najib’s written interview with Nikkei Asian Review seeking to claim credit that it was he himself who first instructed multiple authorities in Malaysia to conduct investigations to the 1MDB scandal and blaming the 1MDB issue of having become “highly politicized, with certain elements within Malaysia attempting to exploit it for their own personal political benefit” and “feeding foreign authorities with, at times, false or incomplete information”; and

• The latest round of propaganda offensive by Najib’s propaganda arm, the Special Affairs Department (JASA) of the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia, among Malaysian university overseas claiming that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) largest kleptocratic action in its US$1 billion forfeiture lawsuit against 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland because of over US$3 billion the international conspiracy of embezzlement and money-laundering of 1MDB funds was in part fuelled by US Attorney-General Loretta Lynch’s conspiracy to divert attention from Hillary Clinton’s email controversy.

The allegation that the US DOJ’s largest kleptocratic action against 1MDB under the US Kleptocratic Asset Recovery Initiative 2010 was partly fuelled by the Hillary-Trump presidential battle for the White House is doubly significant, firstly, because it is the first time that the Malaysian authorities have made such an allegation about the motivation of the US DOJ action against 1MDB; and secondly, it would appear to be a deliberate shift of Putrajaya’s 1MDB strategy to ingratiate with Trump team following the shocking Trump win for the White House bid, hoping to get the Trump administration to drop the DOJ suit altogether! Read the rest of this entry »

CK TAN
Nikkei Asian Review
November 15, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak says it was he who first ordered probes of a troubled state investment fund, and he charges that the issue has been politicized by “certain elements.”

Malaysian authorities, including a bipartisan parliamentary committee, had concluded that weaknesses existed in the management of 1MDB, but none of its executives have been charged so far on allegations of embezzlement. However, authorities in Singapore, Switzerland and the U.S. are probing entities and people related to 1MDB for possible money laundering and other offenses.

In written responses to questions from the Nikkei Asian Review ahead of a three-day visit to Tokyo that begins Tuesday, Najib also touched on Malaysia’s plans for high-speed rail as well as relations with China and Japan. Below are excerpts from the responses.

Q: Foreign governments are investigating the misappropriation of funds related to 1MDB. Do you consider these actions as interference? Will Malaysia reopen investigations into the fund following probes in foreign jurisdictions?

A: Malaysian authorities have actually led the way in investigations into 1MDB. It was I who first instructed multiple authorities in Malaysia to conduct investigations. For example, the company has been the subject of investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the auditor general, the police and the bipartisan parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, which includes opposition politicians. I have always made clear that full cooperation should be extended to any investigation provided it is in accordance with the laws of our country. Furthermore, as I have consistently stated, if any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception.

However, it is important to note that this has become a highly politicized matter, with certain elements within Malaysia attempting to exploit this for their own personal political benefit, and feeding foreign authorities with at times false or incomplete information. Those outside Malaysia cannot always appreciate these complexities, but it is something they should bear in mind to avoid becoming entangled in what has become a domestic political matter. Read the rest of this entry »