IT will take more than a year before Malaysian police can wrap up their investigations into the scandal-ridden 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) as many transactions were either done overseas or were never recorded, said former Council of Eminent Persons member Jomo Kwame Sundaram.

Jomo was doubtful police could recover all documents pertaining to alleged wrongdoing in the state investment fund.

“I cannot be sure because these are unknowns,” Jomo told reporters after speaking at a book launch at Universiti Malaya today.

He said it was a very complex investigation made even more difficult as most of the transactions were made abroad.

“Furthermore, not everybody is very willing to help. Not everybody is willing to provide information,” he said.

Yesterday, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Noor Rashid Ibrahim had said the investigations into 1MDB will be completed within a year despite the challenges of obtaining evidence from foreign countries.

He added that police were receiving cooperation from enforcement authorities in the United States, Switzerland, Singapore and Saudi Arabia.

Jomo, however, was not convinced.

“That (investigations will be completed within a year) is assuming the authorities are willing to provide information.

“What about what the authorities do not know? Many transactions do not involve the authorities. Even if authorities want to help, they may not be able to do so,” he said.

Jomo said while he admired the police’s confidence in solving this mega financial scandal, he pointed out that it was not going to be easy without knowing how big the problem really was.

The US Department of Justice has singled out Low as a key figure in an international laundering scheme involving US$4.5 billion from 1MDB. Low is a fugitive, though reports said he is in China.

Najib, who has claimed trial to money laundering and power abuse relating to 1MDB subsidiary SRC International, has yet be charged with wrongdoing for 1MDB proper.

Police investigations have revealed that a total of US$972 million (RM2.973 billion) was transferred into Najib’s personal bank account, Noor Rashid said yesterday.

The funds were transmitted in several phases and via the companies Good Star, Aaabar and Tanore, he said.

Police have identified more than 100 transactions and individuals involved in receiving the funds from these transactions. Over 50 witnesses have had their statements recorded.

“There are probably hundreds of documents and thousands pages, if not tens of thousands of pages, which some of us have not even seen, never mind read,” Jomo said.  

“How would we know? We’re talking about deals upon deals upon deals.”

Layers left uncovered

“I wish police well to find out their story in one year. There are layers and layers still left to be dug. I mean, things have come out not because of great investigations but for unexpected reasons,” he said, citing the death of Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej in October 2016 as an example.

“The new king wanted to be popular, so he released prisoners. And one of them is Justo (former PetroSaudi International Ltd executive Xavier Andre Justo).

“And Justo had a story to tell, which he tried to sell but nobody wanted to pay enough so now he’s offering it for free,” Jomo said.

Malaysia is seeking to expedite the sale of the RM1 billion yacht Equanimity allegedly owned by Low, while looking to bring back a US$35 million jet parked in Singapore.

US authorities have seized over US$1 billion in assets linked to 1MDB while Singapore has seized US$175 million from bank accounts.

Yesterday, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng told an investor conference in Hong Kong that Putrajaya “realistically” hopes to recover only 30% of the US$4.5 billion misappropriated from 1MDB. – September 14, 2018.