NEW documents filed in the United States allegedly prove that Washington-based firm, 45 Group, was hired to lobby on behalf of Prime Minister Najib Razak, said a Pakatan Harapan leader.

Today’s expose by Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli follows a denial from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) yesterday that it had hired 45 Group, the Godfrey Group or Healy Baumgardner-Nardone.

Rafizi claimed that the new document provides further details on the ties between 45 Group, run by a former aide to US president Donald Trump, Healy Baumgardner-Nardone, and the prime minister.

In a statement today, Rafizi also revealed additional documents showing how a shadowy company called the Godfrey Group Limited was the go-between 45 Group and the PMO.

Godfrey Group was allegedly registered as an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands but uses an address in Taman Molek, Johor Baru, Rafizi said.

Other revelations in Rafizi statement include:

* Najib was named as the Malaysian government officer who dealt with the 45 Group;

* Baumgardner-Nardone was paid US$25,000 (RM106,000) each month for lobbying services;

* The lobbying contract also involved setting up meetings between the Malaysian government and the Trump administration;

* Although the contract was not paid by the Malaysian government, its officials still had dealings with US lobbyists; and

* The lobbying contract was signed by Florence Goh on behalf of the Godfrey Group.

Further probes by Rafizi showed that the address used by the Godfrey Group in Johor Baru is the same as that of CRT Insights Technologies Sdn Bhd, which provides training services and is registered with the Human Resources Ministry;

“Checks with the Companies Commission of Malaysia showed that the company belongs to Goh Siew Boey, whose name is similar to the Florence Goh stated in the lobbying contracts.”

Claims that the PMO had paid US$250,000 to the 45 Group surfaced yesterday on US-based news portal The Daily Beast, which cited a US Justice Department National Security division filling.

US laws require that firms lobbying on behalf of foreign governments make public declarations of their contracts with the Department of Justice.In today’s statement, Rafizi urged Najib and the Malaysian government to take legal action against Baumgardner-Nardone if the 45 Group’s
fillings were untrue.

“The Malaysian government should also inform the US government that these declarations are untrue,” Rafizi said.

He also urged Goh to come forward and reveal who had asked her to hire the US lobbyist on behalf of the PMO, and where she got the US$250,000 to pay the 45 Group.

“If it is true that the Malaysian government does not know about all this, then it should lodge a police report against Goh for illegally using the Malaysian government’s name.” – May 27, 2017.