Civil lawsuits filed in federal court did not name Najib, referring instead to “Malaysian Official 1”. The scandal has precipitated demands in Malaysia for Najib’s resignation and a series of global investigations in the matter.
Advertisement
Back in Malaysia, the hashtag #MalaysianOfficial1 was trending on Thursday. Editors of state-run media say they continue to be told what stories can or can’t run.
He added that there have been no criminal charges pressed against any individuals for misappropriating funds from 1MDB.
This is after Najib’s stepson was named in the DOJ filings for allegedly using monies stolen from 1MDB to buy million-dollar properties in the USA and even funded a number of Hollywood movies.
“To Red Granite’s knowledge, none of the funding it received four years ago was in any way illegitimate and there is nothing in today’s civil lawsuit claiming that Red Granite knew otherwise”.
“It needs to be clear that this is a civil not criminal procedure”, Najib said.
“We have to establish the facts first. I want to say categorically that we are serious about good governance”, he said.
Both Riza and Low have denied any wrongdoing.
“Najib’s position as Prime Minister is secure as long as his position as Umno’s president is safe”. The Administration has worked to foster closer ties with Malaysia as part of a strategy to cultivate partners in Asia who can act as a counterweight to China.
A top White House official distanced Obama from the Justice Department’s litigation.
1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) is a state-owned fund established in 2009 by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, 62, for strategic investments to boost the nation’s economy.
But opposition lawmaker Tony Pua said Malaysia has become a laughing stock with the US move as the government had insisted that no money was missing from the fund. He said the government must open up investigations into the fund and uncover the identity of the Malaysian senior official behind the money laundering.
It also noted lapses by Swiss bank Falcon PBS, saying it was still investigating them. “(BVI)”, said a joint statement by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Commercial Affairs Department.
In the course of investigations, bank accounts belonging to various individuals have been seized and dealings in properties belonging to some of these individuals have been curtailed, the authorities said.
Authorities did not detail the potential action they might take against the banks.
Among the assets the US seeks to seize are paintings by Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh, and a $35 million Bombardier jet.
Federal officials say more than $1 billion was laundered into the United States for the personal benefit of 1MDB officials and their associates.
Leslie Caldwell, assistant USA attorney general, said money was diverted from 1MDB bond offerings through a Swiss bank account and shell companies around the world to Red Granite. She is the chief prosecutor in central California.
Goldman Sachs has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Its portfolio has included power plants and other energy assets in Malaysia and the Middle East and real estate in Kuala Lumpur.
Others named in the complaints are Malaysian businessman Jho Low, who has been implicated in alleged mismanagement at 1MDB, Emirati businessman Khadem Abdulla Al-Qubaisi and Abu Dhabi-based financier Mohammed Ahmed Badawy Al-Husseiny.
Advertisement
Meanwhile former DAP leader Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim said he could not understand why there was no communication between DOJ and 1MDB, and described the probe as a “modern-day wonder”.
