Late last week both the Wall Street Journal and the Sarawak Report, an investigative reporting website about Malaysia, reported that a group of companies linked to debt-ridden state fund 1Malaysian Development Bhd. He warned that police would “not hesitate to use the full force of the law against those who attempt to harm Malaysia’s economy and our democratic process”.
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Two calls and one e-mail to a spokeswoman for Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co in Hong Kong were not answered.
Najib said he had never taken funds for “personal gain”, repeating the denial issued by the Prime Minister’s Office in response to the WSJ report, and noted similar denials by the companies implicated.
“The Prime Minister has been accused of getting RM2.2 billion worth of funds into his accounts weeks before the 13th General Election”, he said.
Maria Chin Abdullah, the civil electoral watchdog’s chairperson, told a press conference that rather than denying the allegation blindly, Razak must support his innocence with details of the two bank accounts in question.
Najib Razak, Malaysia’s Prime Minister since 2009, is facing the greatest challenge of his leadership – and even the risk of criminal charges.
The attorney general’s office released a statement Wednesday in which it said that none of the six accounts belong to Najib.
1MDB, whose advisory board is chaired by Najib, has debts of almost $11.6 billion.
The Malaysian prime minister was referring to recent articles published by Wall Street Journal, which claimed a whopping US$700 million from the investment firm was channelled into his personal account.
WSJ had said that the documents were from the official Malaysian investigation into 1MDB. “My lawyer will take further action after receiving confirmation from the newspaper”.
Meanwhile, opposition parties have invited members of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and non-governmental organizations “disgusted with corruption” to join them for an emergency meeting in parliament Tuesday. Najib has called the claims he received funds part of a campaign of political sabotage aimed at ousting him. The scheme’s loudest critic has been former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has voiced concerns over the debt as well as 1MDB’s alleged lack of transparency.
Abdul Gani said in a statement today that the documents were subject matter of an ongoing investigation.
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Malaysia’s central bank, Bank Negara, a well-regarded regulator in worldwide banking circles, would normally be alerted to large transfers in domestic accounts, especially ones such as the alleged deposit via a Singapore-based Swiss bank of US$620 million in March 2013.
