Archive for category Corruption
Why was Najib absent from the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) Christmas High-tea for three consecutive years in a row?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak, Transport on Tuesday, 27 December 2016
Why was the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, absent from the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) Christmas high-tea on Christmas Day on Sunday – as it was the Prime Minister’s absence from the CFM Christmas high-tea for three consecutive years in a row.
Najib had said that he did not want to be Prime Minister for only a particular section of the community, but a Prime Minister for all Malaysians.
Najib must be more assiduous to honour his pledge to be a Prime Minister for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion and region.
This is one of the issues which Najib should clarify, particularly at the last Cabinet meeting of the year tomorrow – for Malaysians would like to what was the more important function which prevented the Prime Minister from attending the CFM Christmas high-tea for three consecutive years in a row. Read the rest of this entry »
Poor Liow Tiong Lai, he does not know he is making a fool of himself claiming that Christmas messages should be meaningless “sweet nothings” – a reflection of his political naivette and the political party he represents
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Religion on Tuesday, 27 December 2016
Poor MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai. He does not know he is making a fool of himself claiming that Christmas messages should be meaningless “sweet nothings” –a reflection of his political naivette and the political party he represents.
Is Liow aware what is topmost in the minds of Malaysian Christians this Christmas?
Pay attention to the Sabah Council of Churches which prayed this Christmas for truth to prevail in Malaysia, especially among those in power.
Council president Rev Jerry Dusing said truth must be established on the issues concerning 1MDB and the “hudud bill”.
He said: “What is the truth of 1MDB? As Malaysians are left in the dark, we find ourselves frustratingly waiting for foreign nations to expose the truth about this mystery”.
Dusing also asked for the truth about PAS President, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, which UMNO Ministers have announced will be taken over by the government although there is pin-drop silence from MCA, Gerakan, MIC and the Sabah and Sarawak component parties of Barisan Nasional.
Is there consensus by all the 14 Barisan Nasional parties for the BN government take-over of Hadi’s private member’s bill motion, or is UMNO hegemony so fully established in Barisan Nasional that what UMNO wants, UMNO gets?
The Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur Julian Leow Beng Kim, who is also president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, fully endorsed Dusing and the Sabah Council of Churches in their concerns for the truth to prevail. Read the rest of this entry »
Cabinet should devote its last meeting of the year on 28th Dec to review how Malaysian nation-building took a wrong turn when Ministers strayed away from Rukunegara principles and objectives, resulting in the 1MDB scandal, Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy and Najib’s very “ethnic nationalistic” speech as UMNO President
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, nation building, UMNO on Monday, 26 December 2016
We are now in the last week of the year 2016.
Its time for reflection and introspection – not so much as to what went right but what went wrong in our nation as 2016 is an even worse annus horribilis for Malaysia than 2015.
A year ago, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his 2016 New Year message, told Malaysians that his RM50 billion 1MDB and RM2.6 billion donation twin mega scandals had been resolved and were no more issues.
Najib could not be more wrong as Malaysia’s international repute and standing suffered an even worse battering this year with the ferocious pounding of the twin mega scandals in the international marketplace of opinion, to the extent that Malaysians felt embarrassed in admitting that they were Malaysians when abroad.
Malaysia was cited for the third “worst corruption scandal of 2015” by international website foreignpolicy.com in the last week of last year, but we went on to accumulate more dishonours this year – like TIME magazine’s ranking in March as second worst example of global corruption, Economist’s ranking in May as second in its index of crony capitalism and in July, the US Department of Justice (DOJ)’s largest kleptocratic lawsuits to forfeit US$1 billion of 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland from US3.5 billion international 1MDB kleptocratic embezzlement and money-laundering scandal.
These were not the only woes for the country for this year – as the country is going through th worst crisis of confidence as evidenced by the worst plummeting in the value of the Malaysian ringgit and the worst racial and religious polarisation in the nation’s history.
What went wrong and how can we put the country right again, so that Malaysians can hold their heads high, whether at home or abroad? Read the rest of this entry »
Final tranche of questions for Salleh after the Communications and Multimedia Minister admitted he is unable to answer the 35 questions directed at him
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Education, Financial Scandals, Islam, Najib Razak, Religion on Sunday, 25 December 2016
This is the final tranche of five questions for the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak as he had admitted he is unable to answer the 35 questions directed at him in the past seven days.
This means however that Salleh is unable to reinstate his right to ask questions and to demand answers from others – having doubly forfeited such right when firstly, as Minister responsible for the portfolio of information, he failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings; and secondly, failing to acquit himself when given a second chance to redeem himself when I put 35 questions to him.
Out of the 34 questions I have put to Salleh, 14 were about the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal and Malaysia’s international infamy and ignominy of having ascended to the exclusive club of “global kleptocracy”; three questions about Malaysia’s second international infamy and ignominy for being excluded from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015, regarded as the world’s school report, for data and sample bungling; four questions on the perfidy in UMNO and Barisan Nasional over Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (Act 355); three questions about the abuses of power and repression against critics and the civil society and seven questions about UMNO’s exploitation of the extremist politics of race, religion, “Big Lies” and hatred to hang on to power in the forthcoming 14th General Election.
It speaks volumes that Salleh is unable to answer any of these important national questions. Read the rest of this entry »
Seventh tranche of questions for Salleh from BN government’s Janus-faced attitude to Yeo’s conviction to Felda acquisition of PT Eagle High Plantations
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Saturday, 24 December 2016
My seventh tranche of questions for the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak to help him reinstate his right to ask questions and demand answers from others, after forfeiting such right when as Minister responsible for the portfolio of information, he failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings, are as follows:
Question 31:
Does Salleh agree that the Special Affairs Department (Jasa) statement today insisting that that ex-BSI banker Yeo Jiawei’s conviction in Singapore does not implicate 1MDB president Arul Kanda Kandasamy and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in the 1MDB investigations is an open contradiction of the welcome voiced by the Finance Minister II Datuk Johari Abdul Gani that it was “good news” for Yeo’s conviction on witness-tampering charges in relation to Singapore’s investigations into the 1MDB money trail.
Can Salleh as the de facto Information Minister explain why the Barisan Nasional is developing a Janus-faced personality on international trials on 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal, on the one hand “welcoming” Yeo’s conviction and on the other, disclaiming that Yeo’s conviction has anything to do with the 1MDB scandal.
Can Salleh explain BN Government’s Janus-faced attitude, why the “welcome” statement by Johari and the dismissive statement by JASA? Read the rest of this entry »
Sixth tranche of questions for Salleh from 1MDB to Rukunegara, Vision 2020 and former Court of Appeal Judge N.H.Chan
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Friday, 23 December 2016
My sixth tranche of questions for the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak to help him reinstate his right to ask questions and demand answers from others, after forfeiting such right when as Minister responsible for the portfolio of information, he failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings, are as follows:
Question 26:
Yesterday, the Finance Minister II Datuk Johari Abdul Gani yesterday said it was “good news” for the conviction of the third former BSI Singapore banker Yeo Jiawei on witness-tampering charges in relation to Singapore’s investigations into the 1MDB money trail, which has resulted in Yeo’s 30 month prison sentence.
Yeo is to stand trial next year for another seven charges including money-laundering, cheating and forgery in the illicit movement of S$23.9 million (US$16.54 or RM74 million) of 1MDB-linked funds.
Is Johari’s “welcome” statement an indication that the Malaysian Government has woken up from its charade and realised that the Malaysian government cannot continue to pretend that the global 1MDB kleptocratic scandal is no problem at all in Malaysia when criminal investigations and prosecutions connected with 1MDB are taking place in some 10 countries?
If so, what is the government’s next step to restore national and international confidence in the Malaysian government by coming to grips with the international 1MBD money-laundering scandal? Read the rest of this entry »
1MDB Case Hangs Over Goldman Sachs as Investigators Dig for Answers
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Friday, 23 December 2016
By NATHANIEL POPPER and MATTHEW GOLDSTEIN
New York Times
DEC. 22, 2016
Even as Goldman Sachs is gaining a more prominent profile in the administration of Donald J. Trump, the Wall Street investment firm is undergoing scrutiny in an investigation in a sprawling international money laundering and embezzlement scheme.
Prosecutors have said that billions of dollars that Goldman raised for a Malaysian government investment fund — known as 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB — were channeled into a web of personal bank accounts and was ultimately used to buy paintings, luxury real estate and investment stakes in movies like “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
Investigators are now questioning what Goldman knew about the final use of the money.
Goldman has said it believed the money was being used to buy legitimate assets for the investment fund, which was run in part by the Malaysian government and its embattled prime minister, Najib Razak. Read the rest of this entry »
2016 is ending as an even worse annus horribilis for Malaysia than 2015
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Friday, 23 December 2016
In a week’s time, 2016 is ending as an even worse annus horribilis for Malaysia than 2015.
Malaysians were shocked when at the end of last year, Malaysia was named among the world’s six “worst corruption scandals of 2015” by the international website, foreignpolicy.com, which is published daily online by the Slate Group, a division of Washington Post Company.
Malaysia was in the dishonourable third place, as the first two “worst corruption scandals of 2015” went to corruption in the world’s soccer industry involving FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) and Nigeria. The fourth to sixth places went to Honduras and Guatemala, Ghanian judges and the UN General Assembly.
The infamous plaque of dishonour for Malaysia cited as follows:
“When U.S. President Barack Obama visited Malaysia in November, he had the pleasure of arriving in the middle of an awkward corruption scandal. Four months earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that some $700 million of state funds had ended up in Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s personal bank account — which was not where they were supposed to go. That tied Razak directly to a probe into the 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a government-owned development company that was supposed to turn Kuala Lumpur into a thriving financial hub. Najib has disparaged the Journal’s reports as inaccurate, claiming instead that the money in his account came from personal donations. But the reports came after the fund had already fallen behind on its payment schedule. Obama claims he raised the question of corruption in a private meeting with Najib, but publicly said only that the government should aim to be ‘more accountable, more open, more transparent, to root out corruption’.”
Goldman Sachs Ties to Scandal-Plagued 1MDB Run Deep
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Friday, 23 December 2016
By JUSTIN BAER, TOM WRIGHT and KEN BROWN
Wall Street Journal
Dec. 22, 2016
Bank courted state fund now at heart of global embezzlement probes, and investigators want to know if it should have reported suspicious activity
On a yacht moored at Saint-Tropez, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak talked business with Abu Dhabi’s crown prince. Included in the horseshoe of chairs set up for the July 2013 gathering was a partner from Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
The bank earned its place through years of cultivating Mr. Najib and a state investment fund he founded. Goldman had raised $6.5 billion for the fund and earned nearly $600 million in fees, making the Malaysian client among its most lucrative.
Mr. Najib lavished praise on Goldman, said people familiar with the meeting. “Do you see any other bankers on this boat?” one recalls him saying.
Today Mr. Najib and the state fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB, are at the center of what investigators consider one of the largest financial frauds in history. Investigators have said 1MDB was used by the prime minister as a political slush fund and by associates of his to buy more than $1 billion of real estate, art and other luxuries from London to Beverly Hills, Calif. Read the rest of this entry »
Fifth tranche of questions for Salleh from 1MDB, RUU 355 to PISA 2015
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Education on Thursday, 22 December 2016
My fifth tranche of questions for the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak to help him reinstate his right to ask questions and demand answers from others, after forfeiting such right when as Minister responsible for the portfolio of information, he failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings, are as follows:
Question 21:
Can Salleh explain why there was no post-Cabinet statement yesterday on the Cabinet position on Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (Act 355), especially after the joint admission by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Jamil Khir Bahrom and the Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister, Datuk Ahmad Maslan on Sunday that the UMNO leadership wanted to force the other 13 component parties to support Hadi’s private member’s bill by a government takeover of the bill in Parliament next March?
Did the Ministers from MCA, Gerakan, MIC, and the Sabah and Sarawak BN component parties just keep their silence in Cabinet yesterday when they should have spoken up after Jamil and Ahmad Maslan’s revelations? Read the rest of this entry »
As Najib has failed not only the nine strategic objectives of Vision 2020, but also Rukunegara and bedrock Constitutional principles, his Vision 2050 in NT 2050 cannot be anything exciting to shout about
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Corruption, Mahathir, Najib Razak on Thursday, 22 December 2016
Today is Dōngzhì (literally: “the arrival of winter”) or Winter Solstice Festival, where the Northern hemisphere has the shortest daytime and longest nighttime.
Traditionally for the Chinese, the Dongzhi Festival is a time for the family to get together for the making and eating of tangyuan (湯圓), which symbolizes reunion.
In four days times, Christians in Malaysia will celebrate Christmas.
Just over a week ago, Muslims in Malaysia celebrated Maulidur Rasul and at the end of October Hindus celebrated Deepavali.
This is the best time for Malaysians to reaffirm our uniqueness and strength, which lies in the diversity of our multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious society, especially as in recent years, the voices of extremism and intolerance of the diverse races, languages, cultures and religions in Malaysia seem to be gaining traction, causing Malaysians to suffer the worst racial and religious polarisation in the nation’s history.
Malaysians should go back to the founding principles of our Constitution and nation-building process if we want to break away from the present trajectory towards a failed and rogue state – the building of a united, harmonious, democratic, secular, progressive and liberal Malaysia.
The first and third Prime Ministers of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Hussein Onn, were particularly concerned that Malaysia should not waver from our founding principle to be a secular nation with Islam as the official religion and freedom of religion in the country; while the second Prime Minister, Tun Razak (Najib’s father) wanted to highlight Malaysia’s commitment to be a liberal Malaysia, embedding in the Rukunegara the objective “to ensure a liberal approach to her rich and diverse cultural traditions”. Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t just think of our grandkids, but think of the grandkids of all Malaysians
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Economics, Education, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 21 December 2016
I must thank the Minister for Tourism and Culture, Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz for his being so solicitous over my welfare, suggesting that I should be caring my grandchildren in my twilight years.
But Nazri cannot be more wrong, for we should not just think of our grandchildren, but also about the grandchildren of all Malaysians.
In fact, I call on all Malaysians, regardless of age, to transcend race, religion or region, to be solicitous of the national welfare and should involve themselves in ensuring that the country is a better place of our grandchildren and their children.
I put Nazri’s suggestion on my Facebook yesterday, asking whether I should listen to his advice.
The overwhelming majority, almost unanimous, view was in the negative, and some of the comments are as follows: Read the rest of this entry »
Fourth tranche of five questions for Salleh from Musa Hitam, 1MDB, Islamic State to Hadi’s private member’s bill
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Corruption, Financial Scandals, Islamic state, Najib Razak, UMNO on Wednesday, 21 December 2016
The following is the fourth tranche of my five questions for the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak to help him reinstate his right to ask questions and demand answers from others, after forfeiting such right when as Minister responsible for the portfolio of information, he failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings:
Question 16:
Is the former Prime Minister, Tun Musa Hitam, right when he said at a forum yesterday that only the political bankrupts would use the politics of race and religion as gambling chits in the political arena, and one of the most egregious examples of such reckless exploitation of the politics of race and religion is none other than the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his UMNO Presidential Speech on Nov. 30? Read the rest of this entry »
Answer these first, Kit Siang bombards Salleh with questions
Posted by Kit in Corruption, DAP, Education, Financial Scandals on Wednesday, 21 December 2016
Malaysiakini
20 Dec 2016
Lim Kit Siang has bombarded Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak with a barrage of questions
This is after the minister questioned whether the opposition could come up with a shadow cabinet and also asked that the opposition explain what it would do if PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim cannot become prime minister.
However, Lim pointed out that Salleh was raising a spree of questions when the minister himself has not been answering for the government’s alleged scandals and failings.
“If there is any ministry which is assigned the responsibility of defending the government, it is Salleh’s ministry.
“But realising that much as he wanted, he is just incapable of defending the indefensible, Salleh is subtly trying to transform his ministerial portfolio of answering questions on behalf of the government into one of asking questions about the opposition.
“If Salleh expects answers to his questions, let him perform his ministerial duty to answer questions about government scandals and failings,” he said.
The veteran leader then proceeded to bombard Salleh with questions on a daily basis since last Sunday. Read the rest of this entry »
Third tranche of questions for Salleh – from 1MDB, PISA 2015 to Aleppo
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Education, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 20 December 2016
Yesterday, I put to the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak a second tranche of five questions to answer so that he could restore his right to ask questions and demand answers from others, as he had forfeited such right when as a Minister responsible for the portfolio of information, had failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings.
Today, I put to Salleh a third tranche of five questions for him to answer to perform his Ministerial duty before he could start asking questions and demanding answers from others.
My third tranche of five questions are:
Question 11:
One of the questions posed in an electronic media today is as follows:
“If 1MDB is squeaky clean, why are people charged abroad?”
In Singapore, bank officer Yvonne Seah was jailed for two weeks, while her supervisor Yaw Yee Chee was jailed for 18 weeks for abetting businessman Jho Low to launder funds linked to 1MDB.
While the Singapore government has prosecuted the few private investment bankers and closed BSI Bank and Falcon private bank, nothing seems to have happened in Malaysia to the few, untouchable men, namely Jho Low and the prime minister’s stepson Riza Aziz, without whom this massive financial scandal could not have taken place, causing US$3.5 billion to be stolen from the Malaysian people, as alleged by US attorney-general Loretta Lynch.
Can Salleh explain the unending reverberations in other countries of the roiling international 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal, when the Malaysian government continues with its pretence that there is nothing wrong with 1MDB.
Are Yvonne Seah and Yaw Yee Chee wrongly convicted and jailed in Singapore? Read the rest of this entry »
British embassy questioned whether Malaysian PM cleared of corruption
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Monday, 19 December 2016
Oliver Holmes, South-east Asia correspondent
Guardian
19th December 2016
Exclusive: diplomatic cable said an investigation into mysterious $700m found in Najib Razak’s bank account had not absolved him of corruption
The British embassy in Kuala Lumpur has questioned a claim by the Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak, that his country’s anti-graft agency had cleared him of corruption, according to a diplomatic cable seen by the Guardian.
Malaysia’s anti-corruption commission (MACC) said in August last year that its investigation had found that nearly US$700m had been deposited into Najib’s personal bank account from unnamed “donors”.
It did not elaborate on the donor or why they transferred funds to Najib’s private accounts but said the money was not from the debt-laden state fund 1MDB, which had been the focus of the scandal.
Five days later, Najib told members of his ruling party that the MACC had cleared him of corruption allegations. Read the rest of this entry »
SINGAPORE – Casualties from the 1MDB fallout
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Monday, 19 December 2016
The Newspaper, Singapore
Dec 17, 2016
2 JAILED
Yak Yew Chee, 57
Jailed 18 weeks, fined $24,000
*The former managing director of BSI Singapore was the relationship manager for Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho.
*Pleaded guilty in November to two counts each of forgery and failing to report suspicious transactions.
*Also offered to give to the State $7.5 million of the bonuses he received from BSI.
Yvonne Seah Yew Foong, 45
Jailed 2 weeks, fined $10,000
*A director at BSI Singapore, was the next most senior banker on Yak’s team.
*Pleaded guilty to three charges of aiding in forging documents and failing to report suspicious transactions.
Second tranche of five questions for Salleh to answer before he can restore his right to demand answers from others
Posted by Kit in Corruption, PAS, Penang, UMNO on Monday, 19 December 2016
Yesterday, I said that the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak has lost the right to ask questions and demand answers from others, when he as Minister which incorporated the Ministry of Information of the past, had failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings.
I put to him the first tranche of five questions for him to answer to perform his Ministerial duty before he could start asking questions and demanding answers from others.
Today, I am putting forward to him the second tranche of five questions to answer in the process to restore his right to demand answers from others.
My second tranche of five questions are:
Question 6 –
In early October, the country was convulsed by reports of the rampant corruption in the Sabah Water Department, especially the revelation that 60 per cent of the RM3.3 billion earmarked by the federal government to improve water supply to residents, including those in remote areas in the Sabah State, had been “siphoned off” by corruption.
Would Salleh agree that the 60% corruption at the Sabah Water Department, for which no one has yet been charged in court for corruption, is proof that Malaysia is not serious about combating corruption, even less so with regard to grand corruption affecting top political and government leaders.
Can Salleh explain why China is catching “tigers” and Indonesia “crocodiles”, but Malaysia has not been able to catch a single “shark” at the national level in the war against grand corruption?
Read the rest of this entry »
Salleh has lost the right to demand answers when he, as Minister for Communications and Multimedia, failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Parliament, UMNO on Sunday, 18 December 2016
Recently, the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak indulged in spree of questions directed at the Opposition, Pakatan Harapan and PPBM.
It is a pity that Salleh did not realise that he has lost the right to ask questions when as Minister for Communications and Multimedia, which included the role and responsibility of the former Ministry of Information, he had failed to answer numerous questions about government scandals and failings.
If there is any Ministry which is assigned the responsibility of defending the government, it is Salleh’s Ministry, but realizing that much as he wanted, he is just incapable of defending the indefensible, Salleh is subtly trying to transform his Ministerial portfolio of answering questions on behalf of the government into one of asking questions about the Opposition.
In terms of Ministerial KPIs, Salleh is a big flop.
If Salleh expects answers to his questions, let him perform his Ministerial duty to answer questions about government scandals and failings, starting with the following five: Read the rest of this entry »
Thailand to free Swiss man linked to 1MDB scandal
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Friday, 16 December 2016
South China Morning Post
AFP
14 December, 2016
Thailand will free a Swiss man jailed for blackmail in a case linked to a graft scandal engulfing the 1MDB Malaysian state investment fund, his lawyer said Wednesday.
Xavier Justo was jailed last August for attempting to blackmail his former employer PetroSaudi International, a Saudi oil firm allegedly involved in corrupt dealings with Malaysian fund 1MDB.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who launched the scandal-mired 1MDB, has been besieged by allegations that he and his cronies looted billions of dollars from it, prompting calls for him to resign.
According to Thai police Justo was jailed after demanding around US$2.5 million from PetroSaudi to return sensitive company data he claimed to have taken before leaving the firm in 2011.
He was arrested on the Thai island of Koh Samui in June 2015 and handed a three-year sentence.
But on Wednesday his lawyer said he will get out early after a mass prisoner amnesty. Read the rest of this entry »
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