AS Putrajaya wards off allegations of funds misappropriation in 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), an Umno man has demanded to know why the wife of “Malaysian Official No.1” (MO1) has to return jewellery allegedly purchased with money stolen from the state investor fund.                        

Faisal Ismail Aziz, an advisory panel member of the government’s Special Affairs Department (Jasa), said there was no proof that the wife of MO1 had received or has in her possession the jewellery which was revealed in the civil suits filed by the US Department of Justice (DoJ).

“It is a mere story that MO1’s wife had received jewellery allegedly purchased with money stolen from 1MDB. There is no proof it was bought with stolen 1MDB money, and it is also not listed as an asset the DoJ wants to seize.

“That all shows the DoJ itself is unsure about the complainant’s story about the gems and the allegation against MO1’s wife,” Faisal said in a post on his Facebook page earlier today.

The latest DoJ suit filed on June 15 noted that nearly US$30 million (RM128.7 million) were allegedly stolen from 1MDB to buy jewellery, including a 22-carat rare pink diamond necklace worth US$27.3 million for the wife of MO1 in 2013.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan had previously confirmed that MO1 was Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The DoJ suit did not list the pink diamond necklace as an item to be seized, or mentioned MO1’s wife by name.

Opposition MPs and lawyers have urged MO1’s wife to return the jewellery.

Faisal said it was different in the case of Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr, who had received jewellery from Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, as stated in the DoJ suit.

Kerr reportedly transferred the jewellery worth US$8.1 million (RM35 million) from her safe-deposit box in Los Angeles to government agents last Friday.

The jewellery, which included pieces like a 11.72 carat heart-shaped diamond valued at US$1.29 million and a US$3.8 million 8.88 carat diamond pendant, was allegedly bought with funds siphoned from 1MDB by Low.

The DoJ had filed three civil suits to seize assets, including Kerr’s jewellery, amounting to US$1.7 billion allegedly bought with money siphoned from the state investor.

It also brought the total amount of money allegedly stolen or laundered from 1MDB to US$4.5 billion.

Tun Faisal also questioned why Kerr handed over her jewellery to DoJ when the agency still had not secured ownership or custodial right over the assets.

“According to the legal process, it would have been better if Kerr kept the jewels, or returned them to Jho Low until DoJ secured the court order to seize them

“There’s nothing wrong in Kerr returning the jewellery, but the question is why does she have to surrender them to the DoJ.

“There is no proof that they were bought with stolen 1MDB funds or had anything to do with money-laundering. DoJ has to prove its case and obtain the court order first before seizing any assets listed in its civil suit on the Viceroy Hotel Group,” he said.

Low reportedly owned part of the hotel group.

Faisal further questioned if Kerr thought the DoJ would sell the jewellery and return the proceeds to 1MDB and the Malaysian people, when the state investor had repeatedly asserted that its funds were never stolen.

He said based on the DoJ filing against the Viceroy Hotel Group, the funds that were allegedly misappropriated to buy the jewellery were not managed by 1MDB, but by parties related to the Aabar company and International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) in Abu Dhabi. – June 28, 2017.