KUALA LUMPUR: Leading 1MDB critic Tony Pua has called for further investigations to determine that a RM2.6 billion deposit in Prime Minister Najib Razak’s bank accounts had not come from funds linked to the government investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
He disputed the findings by the Attorney-General that the money was a personal donation to Najib from the Saudi royal family and “given without any consideration”.
Pua, who is MP for Petaling Jaya Utara, also disputed Apandi Ali’s conclusion that the donation investigations were entirely separate from those into 1MDB, quoting the Swiss Attorney-General’s Office, which stated on Friday they believed that up to US$4 billion could have been misappropriated by 1MDB.
“Even if the funds deposited into the Prime Minister’s personal bank accounts came from the mysterious Arab donor (how did Apandi satisfy himself) that the money did not originate from 1MDB?,” Pua said in a statement today.
He pointed out that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency had publicly stated that the RM2.6 billion investigations were incomplete without information from overseas financial institutions.
Pua said Apandi could not conclusively dismiss the possibility that part of the US$4 billion of misappropriated funds did not find its way into Najib’s accounts.
“The link between 1MDB and Najib Razak must be thoroughly investigated because of the circumstantial evidence surrounding the transactions,” he said.
Pua said the donation investigation could not be complete without investigating the money trail involving 1MDB and companies associated with it such as International Petroleum Investment Company of Abu Dhabi, its subsidiary Aabar Investments, Tanore Finance and Falcon Bank.
He urged the Attorney-General to grant MACC’s request for mutual legal assistance from foreign regulatory authorities immediately.
Source from FMT News
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