CRIME Malaysian Prime Minister found to have $1 Billion US in bank account; "donations"

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Talk about not doing things in half measures...If you're going to be corrupt go "real big"......

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.smh.com.au/world/14-bill...-pm-najib-razaks-account-20160301-gn7836.html

$1.4 billion reportedly deposited in Malaysia PM Najib Razak's account

Date March 1, 2016 - 1:47PM
Lindsay Murdoch
South-East Asia correspondent for Fairfax Media

More than US$1 billion ($1.4 billion) was deposited in the bank accounts of Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak – millions more than was previously identified, according to the Wall Street Journal, quoting unnamed people familiar with the matter.

The Rupert Murdoch-controlled newspaper published the allegation hours after Malaysia's former leader Mahathir Mohamad quit his country's ruling party, saying he did not want to be associated with a group that is seen as supporting corruption under Mr Najib's leadership.

The Wall Street Journal said millions of dollars arrived in Mr Najib's accounts in 2011 and 2012, citing two people familiar with flows into the accounts and a person familiar with one overseas investigation.

Mr Najib, a British-educated son of a former Malaysian prime minister who has close ties to the Australian government, denies any wrongdoing and says the allegations are part of a plot to topple his government.

The report will intensify pressure on Mr Najib in the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) where powerful division chiefs have refused to move against him.

The Prime Minister has purged key party members who have questioned the source of the money, put a lid on investigations into his actions and cracked down on media outlets that looked into the case.

Kadir Jasin​, an influential commentator in Kuala Lumpur who has supported a fierce campaign against Mr Najib, described Dr Mahathir's resignation as a "kick in the groin of UMNO".

Asked about the resignation before travelling to Saudi Arabia for official meetings, Mr Najib smiled but made no comment.

Dr Mahathir, 90, who served as prime minister and president of UMNO for 22 years before stepping aside in 2003, said he has no plans to start a new party.

"I want to leave UMNO because it is no longer UMNO," he said.

"It's a party dedicated to protecting Najib. I can't be a member of such a party."

Last week Muhyiddin Yassin, a prominent UMNO member and former deputy prime minister, called on Mr Najib to step down over the "dark episode" of his financial dealings involving Malaysia's heavily indebted sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, which the prime minister founded and oversees through an advisory board.

Mr Najib's loyalists in UMNO then suspended Mr Muhyiddin as UMNO's deputy president.

Mr Najib has declined to comment on the latest Wall Street Journal allegation.

Malaysia's attorney-general recently claimed that US$681 million that was deposited into his accounts in 2013 was a donation from a member of Saudi Arabia's royal family, and most was returned.

But the Wall Street Journal and the London-based Sarawak Report earlier reported the money flowed through a series of international transactions from the sovereign fund.

Investigations into the fund are underway in the United States, Singapore, Hong Kong and Switzerland.

Mr Najib has not directly explained the source of the money or what happened to millions of dollars that is still publicly unaccounted.

But the Prime Minister has declared the matter closed and urged Malaysians to unite and move forward from the scandal that has dogged his leadership for months.
 

Dozdoats

On TB every waking moment
I wish the same secret bank account information could be published for EVERY political leader.
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/16/w...scandal-involving-malaysias-premier.html?_r=0

Middle East

Path of $681 Million: From Saudi Arabia to Malaysian Premier’s Personal Account

By DANIEL VICTOR and RICHARD C. PADDOCK
APRIL 15, 2016

How did $681 million end up being deposited in the personal bank account of Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib Razak, last year?

Not in any corrupt way, officials insist.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Thursday that an unspecified Saudi source had given a large sum of money as a “genuine donation” with no obligations attached. He joined top Malaysian leaders in waving away any suggestion of scandal.

For those who have never had fortunes deposited into their personal bank accounts with no obligations attached, this may sound suspicious. Indeed, Mr. Najib has been subject to fierce international scrutiny, including a United States Justice Department investigation, as he continues to deny any wrongdoing.

The Investigation

In July, news reports accused Mr. Najib of putting the huge sum in his own accounts. Critics calling for him to step down charged that at least some of the money had been criminally channeled from the 1 Malaysia Development Board, a government fund set up by Mr. Najib. More recently, Swiss investigators have said it appeared that about $4 billion had been misappropriated from Malaysian state companies.

Efforts to investigate the brewing scandal were met with stiff resistance. The government halted investigators, suspended a news organization and fired a deputy prime minister who was asking questions.

In January, Malaysia’s attorney general, Mohamed Apandi Ali, who was appointed by Mr. Najib, cleared Mr. Najib of any misconduct.

“I am satisfied that there was no evidence to show that the donation was a form of gratification given corruptly,” Mr. Apandi said in a statement.

Officials eager to put the flap behind them have considered the attorney general’s investigation the final word.

“It is a genuine donation with nothing expected in return,” the Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, told reporters in Istanbul on Thursday. “And we are also fully aware that the attorney general of Malaysia has thoroughly investigated the matter and found no wrongdoing. So, as far as we are concerned, the matter is closed.”

The Explanation

There hasn’t been much of one. In January, the attorney general said that the money was a personal donation from the Saudi royal family and that Mr. Najib had returned $620 million “because the sum was not utilized.”

No reason has been given for why the Saudi royal family would send the prime minister $681 million, or what the prime minister did with the $61 million that was not returned.

Until Mr. Jubeir’s comments Thursday, no Saudi official had said that the entire amount was a donation from a source in Saudi Arabia. The foreign minister did not identify the donor or the purpose of the gift, or confirm that most of the money had been returned.

In an interview in February, Mr. Jubeir gave a somewhat different explanation.

“It is a private Saudi citizen, I believe, and the funds went to an investment in Malaysia,” he said then.

The Response

Mr. Najib’s office, which has tried without success to put the controversy to rest, issued a statement on Friday welcoming Mr. Jubeir’s comments.

“This confirms what the prime minister maintained all along, and what multiple lawful authorities concluded after exhaustive investigations: The funds were a donation from Saudi Arabia,” said Mr. Najib’s press secretary, Tengku Sariffuddin.

But Mr. Najib’s opponents said they had found Mr. Jubeir’s most recent statement unconvincing.

In August, thousands of demonstrators gathered in Kuala Lumpur, defying police orders, in anger at Mr. Najib. Not buying the official explanation for the large cash transfer, one held a sign that read, “You really think we are stupid?”


Related Coverage

Ex-Official Calls for Malaysian Prime Minister to Step Down FEB. 27, 2016

Swiss Question Use of Malaysian Sovereign Fund Run by Prime Minister JAN. 29, 2016

Malaysia’s Leader, Najib Razak, Faces U.S. Corruption Inquiry SEPT. 21, 2015
 
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