The Public Accounts Committee members were baffled as to why Datuk Hasan Arifin had unilaterally deleted sentences from the finalised PAC Report on 1MDB which quoted Bank Negara who disclosed that the “ultimate beneficiary of Good Star Limited is an individual not related to Petrosaudi International Limited”.
We were further stumped by Datuk Hasan Arifin’s failure to disclose to PAC members another letter from Bank Negara dated 6 April 2016, a day before the final PAC report was tabled in Parliament. When we discovered the existence of the letter via a ministerial reply in Parliament on 17 May 2016, we had confronted the PAC Chairman at our meeting the very next day.
All PAC opposition members were left speechless when Datuk Hasan refused to share the contents of the Bank Negara letter with us. We could not understand Datuk Hasan’s claims of confidentiality when PAC members were even authorised to review the Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB which was classified under the Official Secrets Act (OSA). What could possibly be more confidential than OSA documents?
Datuk Hasan’s highly suspicious behaviour led us to believe that the Bank Negara letter responding to queries from the PAC must have contained some damning information on 1MDB. I had speculated two days ago that Bank Negara must have outed Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low as the sole beneficiary of Good Star Limited and demanded that the PAC Chairman confirm or deny my allegation.
Datuk Hasan Arifin refused to respond to the press despite repeated queries.
Malaysians are ashamed because we have to depend on the foreign media, The Wall Street Journal in this case, to expose the truth contained in the said letter. The letter dated 6 April 2016 from Bank Negara to the PAC clearly stated that Good Star Limited is “beneficially owned by Low Taek Jho” and that there was never any change of ownership in the company.
This crucial piece of information opens up a whole Pandora’s Box and confirmed what critics like The Sarawak Report, The Edge publications and opposition Members of Parliament have accused 1MDB all along, that out of the US$1.83 billion investment 1MDB carried out with Petrosaudi International Limited, at least US$1.03 billion have been directly misappropriated to Good Star Limited, owned by Jho Low.
This incontrovertible evidence tears to shreds the pretense by Dato’ Seri Najib Razak and 1MDB’s top officials that Good Star Limited belongs to the Petrosaudi group, a claim which was not backed by any legally-admissible documentary evidence.
This vital evidence, if taken into consideration by the Auditor-General and the PAC, would have made the already damning PAC report even more devastating. Fraud, while previously suspected, would have been confirmed.
In fact, had Datuk Hasan Arifin shared the Bank Negara letter with the PAC members, a whole new front of investigations would have been opened, including summoning Jho Low to testify before the PAC. Instead, he lied to the PAC members claiming that the Bank Negara letter was intended for his eyes only. This was despite the letter clearly making reference to the information being provided to the PAC for deliberations.
Hence it cannot be clearer that Datuk Hasan Arifin has been nominated by Dato’ Seri Najib Razak and Barisan Nasional to hamper and cover up the investigations into 1MDB. The PAC Chairman has denigrated his parliamentary position to become a tool to help the crooks who stole billions of dollars of Malaysian tax-payers’ money.
He has lied to and acted against the decisions of the PAC. He has suppressed crucial evidence to cover up shenanigans multi-billion ringgit fraud by the powers that be. He obstructed the parliamentary investigation into the single largest scandal in the history of Malaysia.
Datuk Hasan Arifin’s position as the PAC Chairman is no longer tenable because Malaysians can no longer trust him to carry out his role honestly, professionally and with integrity. We now call upon Datuk Hasan Arifin to resign as the Chairman of the PAC because he has brought disrepute to the committee and disgraced the Parliament.
Showing posts with label WSJ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WSJ. Show all posts
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Friday, May 13, 2016
Dato' Seri Najib Razak must explain how his stepson, Riza Aziz could amass such enormous wealth which WSJ now attributes to be sourced from 1MDB
Riza Aziz acquired a US$33.5 million 7,700-square-foot duplex in the Park Laurel condominium tower overlooking New York’s Central Park and an 11,000-square-foot walled mansion in Beverly Hills with a 120-foot-long pool for more than $17.5 million in 2012.
These property transactions worth US$51 million (RM204 million) was first exposed by The Sarawak Report in December 2013. They were subsequently confirmed by Riza Aziz himself to the New York Times, in a story entitled “Jho Low, Well-Connected in Malaysia, Has Appetite for New York”, published in February 2015.
However yesterday, for the first time, The Wall Street Journal made the allegation which Malaysians have suspected all along, that the source of funds for the above purchases originated from the controversial debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
The global financial daily reported that investigators believe that money used to buy the two properties was part of at least $238 million that was transferred to an offshore company wholly owned by Riza Aziz, Red Granite Capital from Aabar Investments PJS Ltd. The funds were transferred directly and indirectly via intermediaries in batches of US$133 million, US$60 million, US$45 million and US$50 million throughout 2012.
Based on information 1MDB provided to the Auditor-General which was cited in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Report on 1MDB, the company had paid the British Virgin Islands (BVI)-incorporated Aabar Investment PJS Ltd US$567 million and US$790 million in May and October 2012 respectively as “refundable security deposits”. 1MDB had further paid the BVI-Aabar US$2.143 billion between September 2014 to January 2015 purportedly for “options termination compensation” and “top-up security deposits”.
However, Aabar Investment PJS Ltd which has already been liquidated, has recently been exposed as a fraud when the parent of the real Aabar Investment PJS incorporated in Abu Dhabi, International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) officially denied any ties with the similarly named BVI company.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the new documents also show that $60 million of the total received by Red Granite Capital was sent on the same day that 1MDB sent the $790 million to Aabar in the British Virgin Islands.
Dato’ Seri Najib Razak had told The New York Times previously that he “does not track how much Mr. Aziz earns or how such earnings are reinvested.” As for the prime minister himself, the Prime Minister said he had “received inheritance.”
Such tenuous reply, already incredulous in the first place, can no longer justify Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s continued silence on his stepson’s spending spree in the United States.
The Wall Street Journal previous allegations such as the billions of dollars of 1MDB funds have been misappropriated to a fraudulent Aabar Investment PJS Limited have proven themselves to be true.The latest allegation, if proven true, will show that Dato’ Seri Najib
Razak’s direct family members have benefited at least hundreds of millions from the misappropriated funds to acquire outrageously priced property assets overseas.
The Prime Minister must now show proof that Riza Aziz, with less than 4 years prior experience as a junior banker with HSBC London prior to founding Red Granite in 2011 obtained his wealth legally, above board and unrelated to 1MDB. If Dato’ Seri Najib Razak refuses to do so, then he cannot blame ordinary Malaysians who believes him to be completely guilty of corruption and abuse of power.
These property transactions worth US$51 million (RM204 million) was first exposed by The Sarawak Report in December 2013. They were subsequently confirmed by Riza Aziz himself to the New York Times, in a story entitled “Jho Low, Well-Connected in Malaysia, Has Appetite for New York”, published in February 2015.
However yesterday, for the first time, The Wall Street Journal made the allegation which Malaysians have suspected all along, that the source of funds for the above purchases originated from the controversial debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
The global financial daily reported that investigators believe that money used to buy the two properties was part of at least $238 million that was transferred to an offshore company wholly owned by Riza Aziz, Red Granite Capital from Aabar Investments PJS Ltd. The funds were transferred directly and indirectly via intermediaries in batches of US$133 million, US$60 million, US$45 million and US$50 million throughout 2012.
Based on information 1MDB provided to the Auditor-General which was cited in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Report on 1MDB, the company had paid the British Virgin Islands (BVI)-incorporated Aabar Investment PJS Ltd US$567 million and US$790 million in May and October 2012 respectively as “refundable security deposits”. 1MDB had further paid the BVI-Aabar US$2.143 billion between September 2014 to January 2015 purportedly for “options termination compensation” and “top-up security deposits”.
However, Aabar Investment PJS Ltd which has already been liquidated, has recently been exposed as a fraud when the parent of the real Aabar Investment PJS incorporated in Abu Dhabi, International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) officially denied any ties with the similarly named BVI company.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the new documents also show that $60 million of the total received by Red Granite Capital was sent on the same day that 1MDB sent the $790 million to Aabar in the British Virgin Islands.
Dato’ Seri Najib Razak had told The New York Times previously that he “does not track how much Mr. Aziz earns or how such earnings are reinvested.” As for the prime minister himself, the Prime Minister said he had “received inheritance.”
Such tenuous reply, already incredulous in the first place, can no longer justify Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s continued silence on his stepson’s spending spree in the United States.
The Wall Street Journal previous allegations such as the billions of dollars of 1MDB funds have been misappropriated to a fraudulent Aabar Investment PJS Limited have proven themselves to be true.The latest allegation, if proven true, will show that Dato’ Seri Najib
Razak’s direct family members have benefited at least hundreds of millions from the misappropriated funds to acquire outrageously priced property assets overseas.
The Prime Minister must now show proof that Riza Aziz, with less than 4 years prior experience as a junior banker with HSBC London prior to founding Red Granite in 2011 obtained his wealth legally, above board and unrelated to 1MDB. If Dato’ Seri Najib Razak refuses to do so, then he cannot blame ordinary Malaysians who believes him to be completely guilty of corruption and abuse of power.
Friday, April 08, 2016
If billions of dollars are not "missing" as alleged, then why did 1MDB refuse to present its bank statements to the AG and PAC?
The damning Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Report on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) was tabled in Parliament yesterday.
Among the lengthy list of transgressions by 1MDB, the PAC established that:
The sums of US$700 million and US$330 million have been misappropriated to Good Star Limited, a company unrelated to the purported 1MDB-Petrosaudi joint venture in 2009 and 2011. (7.3.4-7.3.5)
US$3.51 billion has been paid to a British Virgin Islands (BVI) incorporated Aabar Investment PJS Limited “Aabar (BVI)” in the form of collaterals, options termination compensation and further unexplained “top-up security” payments despite obvious doubts over who owns Aabar (BVI).
The Auditor-General (AG) was also unable to verify the actual transactions above because 1MDB has refused to provide the bank statements of its overseas bank accounts and foreign subsidiaries. (7.3.9 – 7.3.13)
As a result of 1MDB’s refusal to cooperate, the AG was also unable to ascertain the purported existence and value of the so-called US$940 million worth of “units” parked at the Swiss Bank branch of BSI Bank in Singapore. (7.3.15)
Instead of answering the respective findings of the Report, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) thought it more appropriate to train its guns on the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). 1MDB claimed that it was entirely inaccurate of WSJ to claim in its article that the PAC had found that “billions of dollars” had gone missing from 1MDB, and had recommended a “criminal investigation” on the fund’s senior management.
Why is 1MDB so ruffled with the claim by WSJ that “billions of dollars” were “found missing” based on the PAC Report?
Indeed, the PAC Report never made the specific claim that the above billions were “missing” officially. However, the fact of the matter is these billions are unaccounted for and cannot be verified, as confirmed by the AG himself.
Hence, if 1MDB is so offended by the missing billions description by WSJ, why didn’t the company show where these monies were with its bank statements and their respective transaction details to the AG since May 2015?
In fact, 1MDB’s recalcitrance and utter contempt for the Auditor-General over the above, despite countless reminders by the AG and the PAC, only goes to reinforce the global suspicions that the billions of dollars have indeed gone missing.
The refusal by 1MDB and its management to cooperate over the above unaccounted billions of dollars left the PAC with no choice but to recommend investigations by the relevant
authorities. These “relevant authorities” would certainly include the Royal Malaysia Police to track possible criminal elements in the flow of funds by 1MDB overseas.
1MDB should stop trying to play the victim of a non-existent global malicious conspiracy against the company. 1MDB has had every opportunity to clear its name over the past year and has now been proven to have failed to do so.
The real victims are the Malaysian people whose trust in 1MDB, its management and directors, have been betrayed by half-truths, lies, deceit and cover-ups.
Among the lengthy list of transgressions by 1MDB, the PAC established that:
The sums of US$700 million and US$330 million have been misappropriated to Good Star Limited, a company unrelated to the purported 1MDB-Petrosaudi joint venture in 2009 and 2011. (7.3.4-7.3.5)
US$3.51 billion has been paid to a British Virgin Islands (BVI) incorporated Aabar Investment PJS Limited “Aabar (BVI)” in the form of collaterals, options termination compensation and further unexplained “top-up security” payments despite obvious doubts over who owns Aabar (BVI).
The Auditor-General (AG) was also unable to verify the actual transactions above because 1MDB has refused to provide the bank statements of its overseas bank accounts and foreign subsidiaries. (7.3.9 – 7.3.13)
As a result of 1MDB’s refusal to cooperate, the AG was also unable to ascertain the purported existence and value of the so-called US$940 million worth of “units” parked at the Swiss Bank branch of BSI Bank in Singapore. (7.3.15)
Instead of answering the respective findings of the Report, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) thought it more appropriate to train its guns on the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). 1MDB claimed that it was entirely inaccurate of WSJ to claim in its article that the PAC had found that “billions of dollars” had gone missing from 1MDB, and had recommended a “criminal investigation” on the fund’s senior management.
Why is 1MDB so ruffled with the claim by WSJ that “billions of dollars” were “found missing” based on the PAC Report?
Indeed, the PAC Report never made the specific claim that the above billions were “missing” officially. However, the fact of the matter is these billions are unaccounted for and cannot be verified, as confirmed by the AG himself.
Hence, if 1MDB is so offended by the missing billions description by WSJ, why didn’t the company show where these monies were with its bank statements and their respective transaction details to the AG since May 2015?
In fact, 1MDB’s recalcitrance and utter contempt for the Auditor-General over the above, despite countless reminders by the AG and the PAC, only goes to reinforce the global suspicions that the billions of dollars have indeed gone missing.
The refusal by 1MDB and its management to cooperate over the above unaccounted billions of dollars left the PAC with no choice but to recommend investigations by the relevant
authorities. These “relevant authorities” would certainly include the Royal Malaysia Police to track possible criminal elements in the flow of funds by 1MDB overseas.
1MDB should stop trying to play the victim of a non-existent global malicious conspiracy against the company. 1MDB has had every opportunity to clear its name over the past year and has now been proven to have failed to do so.
The real victims are the Malaysian people whose trust in 1MDB, its management and directors, have been betrayed by half-truths, lies, deceit and cover-ups.
Monday, April 04, 2016
1MDB once again disingenuous with its denial that it funded "The Wolf of Wall Street" producer, Red Granite Pictures
Global news agencies picked up on the exposé by Wall Street Journal which claimed that Red Granite Pictures, the company formed by Riza Aziz to produce “The Wolf of Wall Street”was funded with US$155 million originating from 1MDB.
The Wall Street Journal said that 1MDB had paid US$1.4 billion to Aabar Investment PJS Limited, a company established in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in 2012.
The payment was meant as a collateral for the guarantee provided by Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) for 1MDB’s US$3.5 billion of bonds. However, IPIC’s subsidiary with a similar name, Aabar Investment PJS is set up in Abu Dhabi. IPIC’s financial statements published on the London Stock Exchange has disclosed neither Aabar (BVI) as a subsidiary or the receipt of the US$1.4 billion “collateral” cited by 1MDB.
Red Granite Capital then received US$105 million directly and another US$50 million indirectly via intermediaries from Aabar (BVI). Red Granite Capital then funded Red Granite Pictures.
1MDB was relatively quick to issue a very short denial. 1MDB said it “has never invested in nor transferred funds to Red Granite Pictures, whether directly or via intermediaries.”
However, 1MDB has failed to explain why it has made the above collateral payments to Aabar (BVI) which appears to be a completely unrelated entity to IPIC? Can 1MDB clarify who is the ultimate beneficiary or owner of Aabar (BVI)?
If 1MDB is unable to ascertain the ownership of Aabar (BVI), then why did it transfer such an enormous sum of US$1.4 billion to the company?
Hence it appears that on paper, the transfer of US$1.4 billion is a legitimately made for the purpose of providing a collateral. But upon closer scrutiny, it may amount to a fraudulent attempt to mask the embezzlement of funds via the mystery Aabar (BVI) vehicle.
If 1MDB fails to provide clarity on the nature and ownership of Aabar (BVI) with the necessary and appropriate documents, then any denials it makes about Aabar (BVI) not being an “intermediary” would have zero credibility.
In fact, the best thing for 1MDB to do now is to request IPIC to issue an official statement confirming its alleged relationship with Aabar (BVI). It would put to rest all of the global allegations against 1MDB today. Given 1MDB’s intimate relationship with IPIC and Abu Dhabi, why haven’t IPIC come to 1MDB’s rescue?
The Wall Street Journal said that 1MDB had paid US$1.4 billion to Aabar Investment PJS Limited, a company established in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in 2012.
The payment was meant as a collateral for the guarantee provided by Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) for 1MDB’s US$3.5 billion of bonds. However, IPIC’s subsidiary with a similar name, Aabar Investment PJS is set up in Abu Dhabi. IPIC’s financial statements published on the London Stock Exchange has disclosed neither Aabar (BVI) as a subsidiary or the receipt of the US$1.4 billion “collateral” cited by 1MDB.
Red Granite Capital then received US$105 million directly and another US$50 million indirectly via intermediaries from Aabar (BVI). Red Granite Capital then funded Red Granite Pictures.
1MDB was relatively quick to issue a very short denial. 1MDB said it “has never invested in nor transferred funds to Red Granite Pictures, whether directly or via intermediaries.”
However, 1MDB has failed to explain why it has made the above collateral payments to Aabar (BVI) which appears to be a completely unrelated entity to IPIC? Can 1MDB clarify who is the ultimate beneficiary or owner of Aabar (BVI)?
If 1MDB is unable to ascertain the ownership of Aabar (BVI), then why did it transfer such an enormous sum of US$1.4 billion to the company?
Hence it appears that on paper, the transfer of US$1.4 billion is a legitimately made for the purpose of providing a collateral. But upon closer scrutiny, it may amount to a fraudulent attempt to mask the embezzlement of funds via the mystery Aabar (BVI) vehicle.
If 1MDB fails to provide clarity on the nature and ownership of Aabar (BVI) with the necessary and appropriate documents, then any denials it makes about Aabar (BVI) not being an “intermediary” would have zero credibility.
In fact, the best thing for 1MDB to do now is to request IPIC to issue an official statement confirming its alleged relationship with Aabar (BVI). It would put to rest all of the global allegations against 1MDB today. Given 1MDB’s intimate relationship with IPIC and Abu Dhabi, why haven’t IPIC come to 1MDB’s rescue?
Tuesday, September 08, 2015
After latest WSJ exposé, 1MDB must come clean over the US$3.5 billion bond arrangements and guarantee by IPIC
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) once again raised another multi-billion ringgit question mark on where the money from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) went.
When 1MDB issued 2 bonds worth US$1.75 billion each in May and October 2012 respectively, the loans were strangely guaranteed by International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC), the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi.
As a condition, it was stated in the 1MDB 2013 and 2014 Financial Statements that 40% of the proceeds of the borrowings, or US$1.4 billion was to be kept as a “refundable deposit” as a collateral to the above guarantees. This is on top of 1MDB granting up to “49% equity interest in Powertek Investment Holdings and 1MDB Energy (Langat) which held 1MDB’s power plant acquisitions from Tanjong Energy and Genting Sanyen.
However, as rightly pointed out by the Wall Street Journal, the US$1.4 billion does not appear anywhere in the financial statements of IPIC for the year ending 31 December 2013 and 2014, which was audited by Ernst & Young.
When 1MDB issued 2 bonds worth US$1.75 billion each in May and October 2012 respectively, the loans were strangely guaranteed by International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC), the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi.
As a condition, it was stated in the 1MDB 2013 and 2014 Financial Statements that 40% of the proceeds of the borrowings, or US$1.4 billion was to be kept as a “refundable deposit” as a collateral to the above guarantees. This is on top of 1MDB granting up to “49% equity interest in Powertek Investment Holdings and 1MDB Energy (Langat) which held 1MDB’s power plant acquisitions from Tanjong Energy and Genting Sanyen.
However, as rightly pointed out by the Wall Street Journal, the US$1.4 billion does not appear anywhere in the financial statements of IPIC for the year ending 31 December 2013 and 2014, which was audited by Ernst & Young.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Robbing Peter to Pay Paul - The Curious Case of Dato' Nazri Aziz's Statement
So to Dato’ Seri Nazri Aziz, a robber who donates some of his ill-gotten wealth to "charity" means that money isn’t lost.
Malaysians were left shaking their heads in disbelief when Tourism Minister, Dato’ Seri Nazri Aziz legitimized “robbing Peter to pay Paul”.
This came after The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has exposed the fact that companies which benefited from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)’s generous acquisition offers have separately contributed to a “charity” controlled by the Prime Minister. The leading international financial paper further claimed that some of these donations were then channel to activities related to Barisan Nasional election campaigns.
According to Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz, if the report is true, this means the money spent before GE13 was not wrong. He even thanked WSJ for setting the record straight with its report.
"If the report carried by WSJ is proven true, then it is good, as it shows the money was not lost. Then why do you (critics) say the money is lost? What's wrong with (Finance Ministry wholly-owned 1MDB's) money being spent on the people?" he told Malaysiakini yesterday.
"This wasn't misappropriation of funds. This shows we did not squander the money," he added, reiterating that it was used for the rakyat.
It was an “OMG” moment as we pondered if Dato’ Seri Nazri Aziz just legitimized the act of a robber, if part of his ill-gotten wealth is donated to charity.
If the WSJ is indeed correct in its report, it means that 1MDB had outrageously overpaid Genting Berhad for the latter’s power plants. The transaction allowed Genting to make a reported extraordinary profit of RM1.9 billion on a mere RM400 million of assets. After the acquisition, the Genting group of companies made a total of RM190 million or 10% of its profit to charities, of which Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (YR1M) received at least RM25 million according to WSJ.
Hence, Dato’ Seri Nazri Aziz must answer if just because up to RM190 million out of RM1.9 billion of extraordinary profits went to “charities”, it is perfectly alright for 1MDB to massively overpay for its assets?
Worse, there is nothing in the Companies Commission (SSM) documents pertaining to YR1M, a company limited by guarantee, is in anyway related to the Government. Instead, YR1M looks like a private vehicle controlled entirely by the Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak.
If so, why should these allegedly “charitable” deeds be handed out by this private vehicle and not directly and transparently by the Government? What’s more, the WSJ further alleged that the YR1M funds were utilised to pay for Barisan Nasional (BN) election campaign expenses and handouts. Surely, ill-gotten proceeds from the Government cannot be justified by its use for BN and the Prime Minister’s private political interests?
Now, even if against all ethical standards, “robbing Peter to pay Paul” is legit as argued by Dato’ Seri Nazri Aziz, it does not in anyway explain the money 1MDB “lost”. 1MDB has been criticised to have lost anything between RM15 billion to RM25 billion out of its RM25 billion debt. The RM190 million “donation” by Genting barely explains 1.3% of the total missing funds. Therefore, the Tourism Minister was extremely disingenuous to claim that the WSJ report proved that 1MDB’s funds did not go missing.
Indeed, based on the above, the Prime Minister, Genting Berhad, 1MDB and YR1M must not only be investigated by the Election Commission for committing electoral fraud as demanded by Bersih. They must be investigated by both the Police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), for possible embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds, criminal breach of trust as well as corrupt practices.
Tony Pua
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)