1MDB whistleblower and ex-PetroSaudi International employee Xavier Justo had a second meeting with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today, as the new federal government intensified moves to crack down on the scandal involving missing funds from the state investment firm.

Justo, who leaked documents incriminating former prime minister Najib Razak, was seen leaving Dr Mahathir’s office at the Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya this afternoon an hour after he arrived, the New Straits Times reported.

He declined to speak to reporters waiting outside.

The meeting follows Putrajaya’s announcement today of the revival of a task force to complete investigations into 1MDB, comprising former attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail, former anti-graft chief Abu Kassim Mohamed, current Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Mohd Shukri Abdull, and former Special Branch deputy director Abdul Hamid Bador.

The task force, led by Gani while Najib was in power, was abruptly ended when Gani was replaced as attorney-general in 2015.

Shortly after the announcement, Gani, Abu Kassim, and Shukri went to meet the Council of Eminent Persons, the Pakatan Harapan government’s advisory body which oversees institutional reforms as well as the 1MDB committee tasked with recovering the stolen funds.

Former attorney-general Abu Talib Othman heads the committee on 1MDB.

Justo met Dr Mahathir yesterday for an hour and a half, and described the meeting as “a great privilege and an incredible moment” on his Facebook page, along with a photo of him and the prime minister.

Justo was a former director of PetroSaudi International Ltd who leaked documents in 2011 that detailed the trail of funds siphoned from 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

The Swiss national pleaded guilty to charges of blackmailing his former employer PetroSaudi International, and was sentenced to three years’ jail in Thailand.

In December 2016, he was granted a royal pardon by the new Thai ruler. – May 21, 2018.