TOMMY Thomas has said that he would never have sanctioned the deal proposed by Riza Aziz to settle his money-laundering charges.

The former attorney-general said it would have betrayed the trust the prime minister and the Pakatan Harapan government had put in him if he had allowed the deal.

“Since Idrus (the attorney-general) is at pains to emphasise the weight he gave to my so-called ‘agreement in principle’ (which itself is a fiction), let me state publicly that I would have never sanctioned this deal.

“I would have lost all credibility in the eyes of the people of Malaysia, whom I endeavoured to serve as public prosecutor to the best of my ability, honestly and professionally, if I had approved it,” he said in a statement today.

His statement comes after Attorney-General Idrus Harun yesterday reiterated that Thomas, his predecessor, had agreed in principle to consider the proposal by Riza to settle his money-laundering charges.

Idrus said Riza had made several representations to the A-G’s Chambers (AGC) through his solicitors, Messrs Scivetti & Associates, for the charges against him to be dropped in return for properties and money allegedly gained by him.

Riza was facing five charges for receiving proceeds of unlawful activity totalling US$248 million (RM1.08 billion) linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) between April 2011 and November 2012.

If guilty, he faced up to five years’ jail and a fine of up to RM5 million.

“I have been advised that my predecessor Tommy Thomas, after perusing the said letter of representation, via a minute dated November 19 to senior deputy public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram, sought the views of the latter, and further stated that in light of the proposals outlined above, he is prepared to consider the representation.

“I have been further advised that Sri Ram, in consultation with the then MACC chief Latheefa Koya, suggested that the proposals laid down in the letter of representation be accepted by MACC.

“I have also been advised that Thomas had agreed to the suggestion in principle. This paved the way for further negotiations and planning of the mechanism to be adopted, to take place,” Idrus, who is also the public prosecutor, said in a statement yesterday. – May 18, 2020.