Malaysia’s prime minister says he is serious about good governance and his administration will “fully cooperate” with the U.S. Department of Justice in its probe into a $3.5 billion scandal into a Malaysian state fund.
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He added that there have been no criminal charges pressed against any individuals for misappropriating funds from 1MDB.
United States prosecutors are seeking to seize $1 billion that they say was diverted from 1MDB into luxury real estate in New York, Beverly Hills and London; valuable paintings; and a private jet.
In a development which could rock the Malaysian political scene, court filings made thinly veiled references to Malaysian premier Najib Razak himself in the case, as the U.S. alleged that billions of dollars were siphoned off by Najib’s stepson, a family friend and other officials.
Based on how The Wolf of Wall Street finished we’re sure this is a case where the production team is hoping for a different Hollywood ending.
Wan Saiful said the actions taken by the USA and Singapore authorities were damaging to Malaysia’s reputation.
Najib, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, said on Thursday the USA lawsuits were “a civil not a criminal procedure”.
Foreign minister says Malaysia values bilateral relations, wants USA to recognise steps taken by Putrajaya on 1MDB issue.
Red Granite said on Wednesday that none of the funding it received to make the Oscar-nominated film, which took $US400 million at the box office worldwide, was illegitimate and nothing the company or Riza did was wrong. ‘We have to establish the facts first.
“Najib’s position as prime minister is secure as long as his position as president of Umno is safe”.
“To date there has been no evidence from any investigation conducted by any law enforcement agencies in various jurisdictions which shows that money has been misappropriated from 1MDB”, Mohamed Apandi Ali said in a statement. “1MDB is still the subject of an investigation by the Royal Malaysian Police”, he said.
Najib heads the fund’s advisory board, which was dissolved two months ago. “And we will not allow it to be a platform for money laundering or a place to hide and invest in stolen riches”.
Worldwide newswire Reuters reported that Singapore authorities also seized yesterday assets worth S$240 million (RM716 million) in an investigation on fund flows related to 1MDB for possible money laundering.
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A source familiar with the investigation confirmed that “Malaysian Official 1” was Najib.
