That was a reader’s comment left on the website of the Wall Street Journal. The Swiss were renown for their banking secrecy, but even they couldn’t keep mum over this.
The sum suspected to have been misappropriated amounts to around US$4bn; its intended purpose is the subject of further investigations. So far it has been ascertained that a small portion of the money was transferred to accounts held in Switzerland by various former Malaysian public officials and both former and current public officials from the United Arabic Emirates.
So thanks to the Switzerland attorney general’s office, we now know there is a ‘black hole’ out there amounting to US$4bn (RM17bn), involving several firms that have links to 1MDB.
In my piece, The black hole of 1MDB, I noted that 1MDB stood to make at least RM12bn in property revaluation gains. This would come in handy for 1MDB to fill up its own black hole by paying off its debts, (incurred on what?) and papering over its losses.
Of this RM12bn, RM5bn had already been booked into 1MDB’s account up to 31 March 2014, leaving another RM7bn or so as a cushion. Now, this RM12bn or so is the people’s money from land belonging to the public. It was never meant to be used to help pay off debts.
I am waiting to see how much more 1MDB is going to book in from its property gains when auditor Deloitte finally signs off on its long overdue financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2015.
The Sydney Morning Herald has a piece Troubles resurface for Malaysia’s Najib in Europe:
The Swiss attorney-general’s office said a decision by Malaysia’s attorney-general to shut down an investigation of almost $US700 million that turned up in Mr Najib’s personal bank accounts in 2013 could hamper its own investigations into the matter.
“There appears to have been a sizeable fraud taking place here, and we believe [the investigation] should not be allowed to drop like this,” Andre Marty, spokesman of the Office of Attorney-General was quoted telling the Wall Street Journal.
“Without assistance from Malaysia, our investigation in Switzerland risks running to a dead-end … We are very concerned.”
| Please help to support this blog if you can. Read the commenting guidlelines for this blog. |
Latest from International Business Times UK: Malaysia 1MDB scandal: FBI investigating Goldman Sachs and Tim Leissner’s connection to missing money. The FBI are reportedly investigating Goldman Sachs regional chairman Tim Leissner’s connections to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is allegedly involved in a massive multi-million dollar scandal. Leissner, the Singapore-based chairman of Goldman’s Southeast Asia operations, has returned to the US and is thought to be taking time off from his role as pressure for the Malaysian PM increased. High-flying banker Leissner, 45, is married to Kimora Lee Simmons, the former wife of hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, and now… Read more »
The UK is reported to have joined a host of other international agencies in undertaking their own investigations into alleged corrupt practices involving 1MDB.
Although not confirmed, the involvement of the UK could be due to the alleged involvement of the Royal Bank of Scotland in the transfer of the state fund’s monies out of Malaysia. It is alleged that RBS Coutts in Zurich, which is owned by RBS, is one of the banks that had transferred the state fund’s money out of Malaysia.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/uk-weighs-malaysias-1mdb-state-fund-it-launches-own-investigation-1542919
FinanceAsia has named Malaysia’s Prime Minister and Finance Minister Najib Razak as the worst finance minister in 2016. He pipped 12 other finance ministers of Asia-Pacific’s largest economies for the crown. Last year, Najib took eight spot in FinanceAsia’s ranking. The magazine said that 2015 had been a “very challenging year” for the Malaysian economy, having suffered a “double whammy” of a political scandal involving state fund 1Malaysia Development Fund and Najib. It also faced the collapse in the price of its key oil export. “The long-running political crisis has taken up time that could have been better spent addressing… Read more »
Gaddafi was brought in from the cold and given PR treatment. Saddam served his masters faithfully for many years. The Saudi leaders are still good despite beheadings, stonings and crucifictions. All these leaders were shown hugging and kissing their (male) Western counterparts for years.
So, what went wrong in Bolehland?
The equity to debt swap into petro Saudi will be gone
Simple logic
Petro Saudi has no meaningful biz
It’s a vehicle to transfer money to good star which is allegedly owned by joe loh
You don’t have to wonder why this young man can throw millions a night on drinks and Hollywood girls for company
Yes, Abb, it is all clear now, that fat loh was making a fool of us here, he was spending the tax payers, our monies actually every night giving away the so called “free” food during GE 13, etc etc etc etc etc etc…. I think paris hilton despises him now upon learning the truth. Has he disappeared into the thin air ??? Who is shielding who here ??? Except moron, everyone can see the guise and greed of 1mdb, its purpose and the evil intention !!! The Swiss AG is handling back the significant evidence back to 1malaysia, does… Read more »
The Nikkei Asian Reviews has reported that Najib is not one of the suspected public officials in the Swiss authorities’ investigations into debt-ridden 1MDB. So could Jho Low be the fall guy?