Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman met American ambassador Joseph Y. Yun today over a press conference of the US Justice Department’s lawsuit seeking to seize assets purchased with money allegedly stolen from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Advertisement
The case of the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB announced on Wednesday is unusually large and involves some out-of-the-ordinary assets, such as rights associated with the dark comedy film starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a corrupt NY stockbroker.
These figures include Najib’s stepson Riza Aziz, Jho Low, other officials, and an individual the United States filing calls “Malaysian Official 1” – a thinly-veiled apparent reference to Najib himself.
The civil lawsuits allege that a total of $3.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB, a fund Mr. Najib established in 2009 and whose advisory board he chaired.
No criminal charges have been filed.
Federal officials say the funds laundered into the USA for the benefit of 1MDB officials and their associates were used to pay for property including Manhattan penthouses and Beverly Hills mansions; to settle gambling debts at Las Vegas casinos; and to pay for a London interior decorator, expensive paintings and the production of films, including the 2013 Oscar-nominated movie “The Wolf of Wall Street”.
Najib is not named in the papers and has consistently denied wrongdoing, reports BBC. “I want to say categorically that we are serious about good governance”.
As the prime minister holds the financial portfolio under which 1MDB operates, and many of his critics say he should have known what was going on “and many actually accuse him of being involved in this whole scenario”, Rahman said.
He said he had “strong concerns at the insinuations and allegations” made against Razak.
In the statement, the prime minister’s office said it would “fully cooperate with any lawful investigation of Malaysian companies or citizens, in accordance with worldwide protocols, as the prime minister has always maintained, if any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception”, he added.
The attorney general cleared the prime minister of any wrongdoings earlier this year, saying that the money was a political donation from the Saudi royal family.
Former premier Mahathir Mohamad led a chorus of opposition voices calling for Mr. Najib to step down.
He said Malaysians should stage street protests against Najib, as they have in the past, and push for a referendum on his leadership.
Half of the assets belong to Jho Low, the Malaysian businessman at the heart of the scandal who received a “special thanks” for his part in financing The Wolf of Wall Street, which the DoJ now alleges was funded via misappropriated 1MDB funds.
The joint statement by Singapore’s central bank, police and attorney general marked the first time authorities in the city-state revealed detailed findings since launching investigations previous year. They did not identify 1MDB in that announcement, though Swiss authorities did in a related move against BSI.
Advertisement
The US investigation is the largest set of cases brought by the US Department of Justice’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, which seeks the forfeiture of the proceeds of foreign corruption.
