By Emma Richards | 17th June 2017
Asian Correspondent

It’s got it all – super models, mega yachts, diamond necklaces, Hollywood superstars, fine art, and political intrigue.

While you could be forgiven for thinking I’m describing the latest extravagant and somewhat farfetched storyline of the latest James Bond outing, you would be wrong. For this story also involves a pudgy Malaysian businessman and the biggest theft in history from the coffers of the Malaysian tax payers.

I am, of course, referring to the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal that has one again hit the headlines following the release of a 251-page court document issued Thursday by the US Department of Justice.

The document details the crafty workings of Malaysian financier Jho Low – among others, including Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s stepson Riza Aziz – who is accused of going on a lavish spending spree that beggars-belief with money stolen from the Malaysian people via the fund established by Najib in 2009 to promote economic development. Read the rest of this entry »

Straits Times
17th June 2017

These are some of the alleged assets bought using stolen funds from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), as well as new pieces of information, detailed in the third filing by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in its 251-page civil lawsuit.

“This money financed the lavish lifestyles of the alleged co-conspirators at the expense and detriment of the Malaysian people,” US Acting Assistant Attorney-General Kenneth Blanco said in a statement on Thursday.

The DOJ wants to seize the items as part of its Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative. Read the rest of this entry »

By Una Galani
BreakingViews
Reuters
16 June 2017

1MDB’s money trail is quite something. Cash siphoned from the disgraced Malaysian sovereign fund ended up in a luxury yacht, technology startups, the movie “Dumb and Dumber To”, a pink diamond pendant, and artwork by Picasso and Basquiat, the U.S. Department of Justice alleges. This reads like a parody of the shopping habits of the rich and decadent.

With the latest filing, made public on Thursday, authorities now claim more than $4.5 billion was misappropriated between 2009 and 2015. Out of that, the DOJ is seeking to seize $1.7 billion of assets. The lawsuit shows in gritty detail how money was handled by the world’s biggest banks including Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. They are not accused of wrongdoing, but no one comes out looking good in the largest case brought under the department’s so-called “Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative”. Read the rest of this entry »

Aljazeera
17th June 2017

Malaysia officials have denied US allegations that the assets were stolen from the country’s sovereign wealth fund.

The US Department of Justice is seeking to recover $540m in assets that it says were stolen from Malaysia’s troubled sovereign wealth fund, prompting objections from Malaysian officials who said on Friday there was no evidence of such crimes.

The move by the United States, announced on Thursday, is part of an effort to seize luxury property, art, and other ill-gotten assets linked to fraud at the government-controlled fund, which is intended to promote economic development projects in the Asian nation.

It was the latest development in a complex money laundering scheme the Justice Department says was intended to enrich top-level officials of the fund, including some who are close to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Najib has denied wrongdoing. The prime minister’s press secretary, Tengku Sariffuddin, attacked the latest move and said: “The judicial process is not served by headline seeking.”

The Justice Department says more than $4.5bn has been stolen from the fund, known informally as 1MDB, which was created in 2009.

“This money financed the lavish lifestyles of the alleged coconspirators at the expense and detriment of the Malaysian people,” acting US Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Blanco said in a statement. Read the rest of this entry »

Congratulations to the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Razak!

He has hit the international jackpot as no other incident in his seven years as Prime Minister has so dominated world headlines in the last 36 hours as his brainchild – the 1MDB monster – after the expanded United States Department of Justice (DOJ) litigation to forfeit another US$540 million of assets it alleged were stolen from 1MDB, bringing the total 1MDB assets US DOJ wants to be forfeited because of money-laundering to more than US$4.5 billion.

The latest US DOJ action has laid to rest the hopes of some in the inner Najib circle that the new US President Trump would quash the US DOJ kleptocratic action on 1MDB, as Najib boasts as Trump’s “golfing buddy” and “favourite Prime Minister” with Najib having a signed photograph of Trump on his desk.

Nobody knows whether Trump’s signed photograph would now be removed, but Trump is fighting for his political life, with the fastest worsening presidential approving rating falling below 40 per cent in the history of US Presidents and facing possible impeachment proceedings following investigation for obstruction of justice to have much time and thought for Najib and the 1MDB scandal. There is in fact a large betting market in the US as to whether Trump could finish his first term of office. Read the rest of this entry »

JULIE BORT
Business Insider
JUN. 17, 2017

The US government has filed a lawsuit asking to take ownership of 2.5 million shares of preferred Palantir stock that were allegedly caught up in Malaysia’s massive 1MDB scandal.

On Thursday, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to nab a huge assortment of assets, including some of Palantir’s stock. The government says these items were bought with allegedly stolen money from Malaysia 1Malaysia Development Berhad fund (1MDB).

The 1MDB fund was set up by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 to promote economic development. However, US authorities allege that between 2009 and 2014, billions of dollars were stolen from the fund by multiple people and then used to buy all sorts of things. Read the rest of this entry »

by Shamim Adam and Laurence Arnold
Bloomberg
16th June 2017

Malaysia’s state-owned investment fund, 1MDB, was supposed to attract foreign investment. Instead, it has spurred criminal and regulatory investigations around the world that have cast an unflattering spotlight on financial deal-making, election spending and political patronage under Prime Minister Najib Razak. A Malaysian parliamentary committee identified at least $4.2 billion in irregular transactions.

1. What is 1MDB?

It’s a government investment company — full name, 1Malaysia Development Berhad — that took shape in 2009 under Najib, who went on to lead its advisory board. Its early initiatives included buying privately owned power plants and planning a new financial district in Kuala Lumpur. The fund proved better at borrowing — it accumulated $12 billion in debt — than at luring large-scale investment. Read the rest of this entry »

by Greg Farrell
Bloomberg
16 June 2017

The U.S. Justice Department is seeking to recover $540 million in assets — including art works, jewelry and film rights — that it says were purchased with funds misappropriated from Malaysia’s 1MDB wealth fund.

It’s the latest attempt by the U.S. government to seize assets linked to the tainted fund, bringing the total sought by the Justice Department to $1.8 billion.

From 2009 through 2015, more than $4.5 billion belonging to 1Malaysia Development Bhd was diverted by high-level officials of the fund and their associates, according to complaints filed Thursday in the Central District of California.

The items cited in the new lawsuit as subject to seizure include a Park Avenue condominium, diamond jewelry, shares of fitness club operator Fly Wheel Sports Inc., a painting by Pablo Picasso titled “Nature Morte au Crane de Taureau” and rights to the 2014 film “Dumb and Dumber To.” Read the rest of this entry »

By Eileen Ng | AP
Washington Post
June 16 2017

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A Malaysian sovereign wealth fund has rejected U.S. Justice Department allegations over money laundering and alleged theft of a treasure trove of assets including diamonds, a yacht and private jet and penthouse apartments.

The Malaysian government-controlled fund known informally as 1MDB and other officials in Kuala Lumpur insisted Friday that there was no proof linking the fund to such crimes.

On Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department filed a civil case seeking recovery of $540 million in assets that it says were stolen from 1MDB, a fund intended to promote economic development projects. Overall, the Justice Department alleges that more than $4.5 billion has been stolen from the fund. Read the rest of this entry »

David J Lynch in Washington
Financial Times
June 15, 2017

Latest move to recover money allegedly stolen from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund

The US Department of Justice on Thursday moved to seize an additional $540m in assets purchased with funds stolen from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, including a luxury yacht, a Picasso painting, jewellery and rights to the movie Dumb and Dumber.

The suit, which was filed in federal court in Los Angeles, is the latest move in an ambitious US effort to recover money allegedly siphoned from the fund in a sophisticated operation that ran from 2009 until 2015.

The US now estimates that a total of $4.5bn was pilfered by Malaysian public officials and their associates including Jho Low, a well-connected Malaysian businessman who held no formal role in the project. Read the rest of this entry »

When I read of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s speech yesterday on the importance of loyalty at a function of 13 uniformed services, I am reminded of United States President Donald Trump’s demand for loyalty from the former FBI Director, James Comey, whom he subsequently sacked.

Malaysians should owe loyalty to the nation, not to any individual, regardless of whether right or wrong – as the latter is the worst form of disloyalty to the nation, subordinating national interests to “loyalty” to any one person!

Today, Najib reminded social media users to spread positive news about the country and not negative ones and that they should use their influence to help instil a love for the nation.

I cannot agree more with the Prime Minister and nothing is more hurting to loyal and patriotic Malaysians than to see the country regarded in a very poor light by the international community.

This is a problem that must be addressed by the Prime Minister and the government. Read the rest of this entry »

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, should confirm or deny that he had three other Ambank accounts which were active at the material time of the alleged payment of RM9.5 million to lawyer Shafie Abdullah as well as the payments themselves.

Silence is simply not an option for the Prime Minister if he wants Malaysians and the world to believe that he is committed to the principles of accountability, transparency and good governance.

The Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali also cannot keep his silence to the claim by the PKR National Vice Chairman and MP for Pandan, Rafizi Ramli, who said that information on the flow of funds from these three accounts were detailed in a flowchart shown by the Attorney-General during a press conference in January 2016.

A prompt and straight-forward confirmation is called for if Najib had three other Ambank accounts at the relevant period concerned, or there should be denial; similarly, if Najib had paid Shafie RM9.5 million from his personal banking accounts – confirm if true, giving the reasons for the payment; deny, if untrue!

Why is Najib finding it so difficult to do a very simple thing? Read the rest of this entry »

Chan Chao Peh
The Edge
June 02, 2017

SINGAPORE (June 2): This past week, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) imposed penalties on two more banks and said it had completed an extensive, two-year-long probed into the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

But charges could be brought against more individuals in the future, The Edge Singapore understands.

Following the latest announcement by MAS of financial penalties issued against UOB and Credit Suisse, the total of banks that have faced MAS action over their roles in the 1MDB saga have been brought to eight.

These eight banks have been fined S$29.1 million in total, while two of them – BSI Bank and Falcon Bank – have been ordered to close in Singapore. Read the rest of this entry »

A week ago, the Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Dr. Ali Hamsa said that the government is studying the possibility of using the polygraph – lie detector – test as a mechanism to help curb cases of corruption among civil servants.

Ali Hamsa said the government was looking at using such tools as part of its initiatives to strengthen the integrity of government agencies.

This is a good idea, especially as it was recengly reported by an establishment “mainstream media” that an entire division of a government agency, which collects revenue for the country, had failed a polygraph test showing that most of the senior officers had been stealing money and abused their position for gratification – one reason why the polygraph test for civil servants was discontinued.

Bearing in mind the proverb “A fish rots from the head down”, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should be the first to take the polygraph test and answer questions specifically on the 1MDB scandal and his private banking accounts by a panel of independent and eminent Malaysians. Read the rest of this entry »