TONY Pua wants to know if Irwan Serigar Abdullah, the Ministry of Finance treasurer-general and current 1MDB chairman, is aware of a third “secret” letter of support for 1MDB’s US$975 million (RM4.18 billion) borrowing from a Deutsche Bank-led consortium in September 2014.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP said the official reply provided by the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Najib Razak in March 2016 stated that there were only two such letters issued: in March 2013 for US$3 billion and another in March 2015 for US$150 million.

“Was the reply approved by the treasurer-general mistaken? Or was he completely unaware that a third ‘secret’ letter of support had actually been issued by Najib?” Pua said in a statement today.

“Second, even if he was not previously aware of the ‘secret’ letter, Irwan, as treasurer-general and 1MDB chairman, must surely investigate. Has he called Duetsche Bank to verify the existence of the letter, as alleged by the US Department of Justice?”

The DAP national publicity chief said if Irwan failed to verify the third letter, he would be unfit to continue in his positions as treasurer-general and 1MDB chairman.

The latest suit filed by the Department of Justice (DoJ) last month alleged that Malaysian Official 1 (MO1) had signed a third letter of support for 1MDB to secure a US$975 million loan from a Deutsche Bank-led consortium in September 2014.

“This would have been a third letter issued by Malaysia to effectively guarantee borrowings by 1MDB,” said Pua.

“The letters stated that ‘in the event 1MDB… fails to provide the required funds, Malaysia shall then step in to inject the necessary capital into the issuer or make payments to ensure the issuer’s obligations are fully met’,” he added.

The DoJ suit further noted that “internal Deutsche Bank records reflect that 1MDB officials opted to provide a letter of support signed by MO1, rather than some form of guarantee by 1MDB… at least in part because a letter of support did not require Bank Negara or Cabinet approval. At the request of 1MDB, all references to the Letter of Support were removed from the Facility Agreement.”

Pua said he sought answers from Najib as to whether he had indeed issued this “secret” letter and whether he had the authorisation from the Cabinet and Ministry of Finance to do so.

“However, the questions posed have been met with utter silence, whether from the prime minister himself or from his Cabinet.

“Hence, I now pose the same questions to Irwan, the treasurer-general, who was appointed chairman of 1MDB just a year ago,” said Pua. – July 30, 2017.