CIVIL society groups and a lawmaker criticised Prime Minister Najib Razak for trying to soft pedal the colossal scandal at state investor 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) yesterday.

They said the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) had called it the world’s biggest kleptocracy and other jurisdictions, such as Switzerland and Singapore, have taken legal action against banks and individuals for money laundering linked to 1MDB.

In contrast, Malaysia has not acted against anyone.

Najib told investors yesterday that 1MDB’s problems were amplified by the opposition to attack the government.

“Now, I am not going to brush over this issue. There were indeed failings at the company, there were lapses of governance. There was valid cause for concern,” Najib said in his speech at Invest Malaysia 2018 in Kuala Lumpur.

“This is why I ordered one of the most comprehensive and detailed investigations in Malaysia’s corporate history, one that involved multiple lawful authorities, including a bipartisan parliamentary body. Their findings were taken on board – and the company’s board was dissolved, its management team changed, and its operations reviewed.”

DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua, however, said abroad, banks have been shut down and collaborators jailed for money laundering charges linked to 1MDB.

“(But) no action has been taken in Malaysia. Not even an attempt to recover the stolen funds. So what exactly was amplified?

“What about the missing US$4 billion (RM16 billion) or more which the US DoJ has identified as stolen from 1MDB to acquire luxury yachts, private jets, properties all around the world, rare and famous paintings as well as to produce Hollywood movies?”

Both Pua and anti-graft watchdog the Centre to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4) director Cynthia Gabriel said Najib has yet to explain DoJ’s assertions that US$681 million were transferred from 1MDB to his bank accounts.

“Was it ‘amplified’ because the purported Arab donor has disappeared after the US DoJ exposed the above transactions?” asked Pua.

Cynthia said the failings of 1MDB were caused by deliberate failed investments, fraudulent transfers and the use of offshore banks and shell companies, as well as the purchases of luxury properties and paintings.

“The only way for Najib to bridge the huge trust deficit was if he told the truth. Declassify the 1MDB report. Be accountable. Cooperate in the (overseas) criminal probes, only then people will have some confidence,” she said.

Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah also took Najib to task for consistently denying and underplaying the corruption in 1MDB.

“From the removal of the former A-G (attorney-general) (Abdul) Gani Patail from his office, the immediate and subsequent clearing of the prime minister’s name from allegations of corruption upon the appointment of the new A-G, to slapping the Official Secrets Act on the report which Najib talks about, do not clear him from the allegations of corruption,” said Maria.

She said the incongruent statements coming out of Putrajaya and reports from overseas investigations show a huge disparity in their treatment of 1MDB.

“The (Malaysian) government’s attempts to whitewash and sideline the issue have not gone unnoticed by the public,” said Maria, reiterating Bersih 2.0’s call for Najib to step down as finance minister and make public the audit report on 1MDB.

“MACC should also be given full authority to investigate the matter and present their findings publicly without interference or threats by the government.”

In 2016, the DoJ said about US$731 million found its way into the accounts of Malaysian Official No. 1 (MO1).

The DoJ did not name Najib but Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan later confirmed that MO1 was the prime minister.

The DoJ had also filed civil forfeiture suits over more than US$1 billion in real estate, movie rights and other assets.

It then launched a criminal investigation last year and sought to delay the civil suits. US attorney-general Jeff Sessions has called the 1MDB scandal “kleptocracy at its worst”. – January 24, 2018.