The Impending Unravelling of IMDB could lead towards the UNRAVELLING OF NAJIB RAZAK, described by many quarters as the "weakest PM" Negaraku ever had, including by none-other-than Dr Mahathir Mohamad -- love or hate hime PM who ruled Malaysia for 22 years, no joke! As a journalist-blogger for past 10 years, Desi takes Mahathir seriously, at least he quotes Shakespeare occasionally! Mahathir's nemesis now in-jail-on-trumped-up-sodomy-charges second time around, Sdr Anwar Ibrahim -- also quotes Shakespeare often enough, more than the good doctor around the Putajaya house!
Now the Opposition Leader once oppressed by Mahathir, continues to be persecuted by the current UMNO regime, but Anwar's salvation may come from a surprising quarter -- from the infighting within UMNO. The almigthy Vitamin M may save Najib from the EGM called by his "bodeking" division heads/supporters for tomorrow, but the looming national crisis brought on by the falling world oil prices, (and casuing Petronas to report its first loss of some RM8billion in the closing quarter of 2014), and the concurrent dwindling ringgit excahnge rate, is now compunded further by the UNRAVELLING OF THRE FIVE-YEAR-OLD 1MALAYSIA DEVELOPMENT BERHAD (1MDB).
The entry of an international banker about two months ago in the form of KANDASAMY KANDA sparked a national spotlight on this new CEO, but his initial bravado of trumpeting how 1MDB is an entity full of profitable potential, hardly lasted two months -- he started the DISMANTLING OF THE 1MDB, leaving only one bright spot in the sinking mess/mass, potentially listable but questionable oil unit called... (I will fill in the blank, later cun?) EDRA ENERGY, HERE IT IS!.
RECENT REPORT from REUTERS :~~~
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's indebted and
controversy-ridden state investor 1MDB will be left as a skeletal
structure and possibly dissolved under a debt repayment plan in which
most of its assets will be sold, sources with direct knowledge of the
matter told Reuters.
The power and property fund, a pet project of Prime Minister Najib Razak with assets worth US$14 billion, was hit by losses last year and nearly defaulted on a loan payment. The near-miss drove down the ringgit currency and Malaysian government bonds and prompted calls from opposition leaders to make the fund's accounts more transparent.
The state fund's 42 billion ringgit (US$11.6 billion) debt includes a US$3 billion bond sale in 2013 that was one of the largest global issues from Southeast Asia.
Under the aggressive restructuring plan, crafted by new boss Arul Kanda and blessed by the government, the fund will sell 80 percent of its power unit Edra Energy via a stock market listing, three sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters.
More than 18 billion ringgit of 1MDB's debt linked to its power assets would go under Edra Energy ahead of the listing, which is due to be kickstarted in 6-9 months time, the sources said.
The fund, which has Najib as chairman of its advisory board, will also sell the bulk of its land assets and stakes in two high-profile property projects, Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) and Bandar Malaysia, after splitting them into separate entities, as already partially indicated in a strategic review unveiled last month.
The Finance Ministry, which is headed by Najib and is the sole owner of 1MDB, did not respond to a request for comment.
"HOT POTATO"
1MDB said in an email that Edra Energy would be "monetized" in 2015 and the TRX and Bandar Malaysia projects would be ultimately owned by the finance ministry.
This process would turn 1MDB into a skeletal structure that could eventually be dissolved completely, said one person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
"It's become a hot potato for the Malaysian government. It was just too much to handle," said another source.
1MDB said on Wednesday that its plans to list Edra Energy were on track. It said the fund would re-submit an application for an initial public offering after cancelling a submission made in November. It did not elaborate.
Arul, appointed in January to revamp the fund, has carried out a strategic review of 1MDB's finances and announced last month the fund would monetize Edra Energy this year, run real estate projects as standalone entities and sell assets to repay lenders. He did not disclose any financial details.
A respected former investment banker who was previously at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Arul was brought in to see if it was possible to salvage the fund, but decided it was best to wind down its businesses after carrying out a thorough 6-week review.
"A KNOWN UNKNOWN"
1MDB, which analysts view as a cross between a sovereign wealth fund and a state-backed strategic fund, was established in 2008 as the Terengganu Investment Authority with 10 billion ringgit to manage oil royalty payments to the resources-rich northern state of Terengganu.
But as Najib came to power in 2009, he renamed it 1MDB and turned it into a fully-fledged investment fund.
1MDB expanded by purchasing pricey power assets from Malaysian tycoon Ananda Krishnan and gaming-to-plantation conglomerate Genting Bhd , and large plots of land in the capital and other regions of Malaysia, racking up debt in the process until it plunged to a loss last year.
Krishnan also lent 2 billion ringgit to 1MDB last month, pulling the fund back from the brink of the possible default on a bank loan payment, sources said. Officials at Krishnan's investment vehicle Usaha Tegas were not immediately available to comment.
Political leaders, including former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, have demanded an inquiry into 1MDB's finances and are also calling on the government to explain transactions that they allege resulted in siphoning off public funds.
Najib said on Wednesday he had instructed the Auditor General to independently verify 1MDB's accounts after the allegations. But question marks remain on whether investors would be interested in the fund's IPO and sale plans.
"On 1MDB, it really boils down to the lack of transparency which cements it as a known unknown," said Weiwen Ng, an ANZ analyst based in Singapore.
"Greater transparency and accountability of the 1MDB issue would certainly help for future sales of assets and any such possible restructuring."
(US$1 = 3.6350 ringgit)
(Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar in Singapore and Umesh Desai in Hong Kong; Editing by Lisa Jucca and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
The power and property fund, a pet project of Prime Minister Najib Razak with assets worth US$14 billion, was hit by losses last year and nearly defaulted on a loan payment. The near-miss drove down the ringgit currency and Malaysian government bonds and prompted calls from opposition leaders to make the fund's accounts more transparent.
The state fund's 42 billion ringgit (US$11.6 billion) debt includes a US$3 billion bond sale in 2013 that was one of the largest global issues from Southeast Asia.
Under the aggressive restructuring plan, crafted by new boss Arul Kanda and blessed by the government, the fund will sell 80 percent of its power unit Edra Energy via a stock market listing, three sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters.
More than 18 billion ringgit of 1MDB's debt linked to its power assets would go under Edra Energy ahead of the listing, which is due to be kickstarted in 6-9 months time, the sources said.
The fund, which has Najib as chairman of its advisory board, will also sell the bulk of its land assets and stakes in two high-profile property projects, Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) and Bandar Malaysia, after splitting them into separate entities, as already partially indicated in a strategic review unveiled last month.
The Finance Ministry, which is headed by Najib and is the sole owner of 1MDB, did not respond to a request for comment.
"HOT POTATO"
1MDB said in an email that Edra Energy would be "monetized" in 2015 and the TRX and Bandar Malaysia projects would be ultimately owned by the finance ministry.
This process would turn 1MDB into a skeletal structure that could eventually be dissolved completely, said one person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
"It's become a hot potato for the Malaysian government. It was just too much to handle," said another source.
1MDB said on Wednesday that its plans to list Edra Energy were on track. It said the fund would re-submit an application for an initial public offering after cancelling a submission made in November. It did not elaborate.
Arul, appointed in January to revamp the fund, has carried out a strategic review of 1MDB's finances and announced last month the fund would monetize Edra Energy this year, run real estate projects as standalone entities and sell assets to repay lenders. He did not disclose any financial details.
A respected former investment banker who was previously at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Arul was brought in to see if it was possible to salvage the fund, but decided it was best to wind down its businesses after carrying out a thorough 6-week review.
"A KNOWN UNKNOWN"
1MDB, which analysts view as a cross between a sovereign wealth fund and a state-backed strategic fund, was established in 2008 as the Terengganu Investment Authority with 10 billion ringgit to manage oil royalty payments to the resources-rich northern state of Terengganu.
But as Najib came to power in 2009, he renamed it 1MDB and turned it into a fully-fledged investment fund.
1MDB expanded by purchasing pricey power assets from Malaysian tycoon Ananda Krishnan and gaming-to-plantation conglomerate Genting Bhd , and large plots of land in the capital and other regions of Malaysia, racking up debt in the process until it plunged to a loss last year.
Krishnan also lent 2 billion ringgit to 1MDB last month, pulling the fund back from the brink of the possible default on a bank loan payment, sources said. Officials at Krishnan's investment vehicle Usaha Tegas were not immediately available to comment.
Political leaders, including former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, have demanded an inquiry into 1MDB's finances and are also calling on the government to explain transactions that they allege resulted in siphoning off public funds.
Najib said on Wednesday he had instructed the Auditor General to independently verify 1MDB's accounts after the allegations. But question marks remain on whether investors would be interested in the fund's IPO and sale plans.
"On 1MDB, it really boils down to the lack of transparency which cements it as a known unknown," said Weiwen Ng, an ANZ analyst based in Singapore.
"Greater transparency and accountability of the 1MDB issue would certainly help for future sales of assets and any such possible restructuring."
(US$1 = 3.6350 ringgit)
(Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar in Singapore and Umesh Desai in Hong Kong; Editing by Lisa Jucca and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
- Reuters
A
Malaysian businessman has strongly denied a report by a website that he
benefited from alleged improprieties in a complex 2009 financial deal
involving a government-owned investment company.
Lawyers for Low Taek Jho, known popularly as Jho Low, who has been at the centre of growing calls for a full investigation of the controversy, said the allegation was "false, materially misleading and is categorically denied by our client".
The accusations were contained in a report last weekend by Sarawak Report, a UK-based site run by a former BBC journalist that focuses on Malaysian corruption allegations.
The report, parts of which also appeared in the UK's Sunday Times and on Friday in The Economist, published a series of alleged internal emails that it said showed US$700 million (RM2.5 billion) involved in the deal between the state-owned Malaysian firm, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and Saudi energy company PetroSaudi was sent to a bank account belonging to a company controlled by Low. London law firm Schillings, which represents Low, said in a letter to AFP that he was "consulted" on the deal, "but has never been involved in criminal acts with respect to this transaction".
It said the allegations, which were cited in an AFP report on Tuesday, contain "substantial factual inaccuracies and false allegations".
"The allegations are entirely baseless," it said in a letter setting out Low's position on the allegations, which it termed "defamatory".
Nobody involved in the controversy has publicly disputed the authenticity of the emails cited by Sarawak Report.
Over the past year, several Malaysian media investigations into the deal have raised mounting questions over 1MDB's financial dealings and whether public funds were being abused, and Low's role.
1MDB was launched in 2009 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who still chairs its advisory board.
But it is reportedly struggling to pay off US$11 billion in debt, and critics say it has been opaque in explaining its dealings.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing in the affair, and his office has said the attacks on 1MDB are politically motivated.
1MDB denies improprieties in the PetroSaudi joint venture, maintaining that it received back all of its investment of US$1 billion in the deal, plus a US$488 million profit, and that its audited accounts prove this.
Both Low's lawyers and 1MDB denied he had ever been employed or retained by 1MDB and that he had ever had any decision-making role.
Malaysia's opposition, as well as powerful ruling-party figures such as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, have stepped up calls in recent months for a probe into 1MDB and the PetroSaudi deal.
After the Sarawak Report allegations, anti-graft watchdog Transparency International on Tuesday joined the calls for "a full investigation".
On Wednesday, Najib ordered the country's Auditor-General to "independently verify 1MDB's accounts", with the findings to be passed to a bipartisan parliamentary public accounts committee.
"If any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception," Najib said in a statement released by his office.
Sarawak Report's editor is Clare Rewcastle Brown, a Malaysia-born former BBC journalist and sister-in-law to former British prime minister Gordon Brown. – AFP, March 7, 2015.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/jho-low-denies-allegations-over-state-investment-firm#sthash.LbdmEGQh.dpuf
Lawyers for Low Taek Jho, known popularly as Jho Low, who has been at the centre of growing calls for a full investigation of the controversy, said the allegation was "false, materially misleading and is categorically denied by our client".
The accusations were contained in a report last weekend by Sarawak Report, a UK-based site run by a former BBC journalist that focuses on Malaysian corruption allegations.
The report, parts of which also appeared in the UK's Sunday Times and on Friday in The Economist, published a series of alleged internal emails that it said showed US$700 million (RM2.5 billion) involved in the deal between the state-owned Malaysian firm, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and Saudi energy company PetroSaudi was sent to a bank account belonging to a company controlled by Low. London law firm Schillings, which represents Low, said in a letter to AFP that he was "consulted" on the deal, "but has never been involved in criminal acts with respect to this transaction".
It said the allegations, which were cited in an AFP report on Tuesday, contain "substantial factual inaccuracies and false allegations".
"The allegations are entirely baseless," it said in a letter setting out Low's position on the allegations, which it termed "defamatory".
Nobody involved in the controversy has publicly disputed the authenticity of the emails cited by Sarawak Report.
Over the past year, several Malaysian media investigations into the deal have raised mounting questions over 1MDB's financial dealings and whether public funds were being abused, and Low's role.
1MDB was launched in 2009 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who still chairs its advisory board.
But it is reportedly struggling to pay off US$11 billion in debt, and critics say it has been opaque in explaining its dealings.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing in the affair, and his office has said the attacks on 1MDB are politically motivated.
1MDB denies improprieties in the PetroSaudi joint venture, maintaining that it received back all of its investment of US$1 billion in the deal, plus a US$488 million profit, and that its audited accounts prove this.
Both Low's lawyers and 1MDB denied he had ever been employed or retained by 1MDB and that he had ever had any decision-making role.
Malaysia's opposition, as well as powerful ruling-party figures such as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, have stepped up calls in recent months for a probe into 1MDB and the PetroSaudi deal.
After the Sarawak Report allegations, anti-graft watchdog Transparency International on Tuesday joined the calls for "a full investigation".
On Wednesday, Najib ordered the country's Auditor-General to "independently verify 1MDB's accounts", with the findings to be passed to a bipartisan parliamentary public accounts committee.
"If any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception," Najib said in a statement released by his office.
Sarawak Report's editor is Clare Rewcastle Brown, a Malaysia-born former BBC journalist and sister-in-law to former British prime minister Gordon Brown. – AFP, March 7, 2015.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/jho-low-denies-allegations-over-state-investment-firm#sthash.LbdmEGQh.dpuf
A
Malaysian businessman has strongly denied a report by a website that he
benefited from alleged improprieties in a complex 2009 financial deal
involving a government-owned investment company.
Lawyers for Low Taek Jho, known popularly as Jho Low, who has been at the centre of growing calls for a full investigation of the controversy, said the allegation was "false, materially misleading and is categorically denied by our client".
The accusations were contained in a report last weekend by Sarawak Report, a UK-based site run by a former BBC journalist that focuses on Malaysian corruption allegations.
The report, parts of which also appeared in the UK's Sunday Times and on Friday in The Economist, published a series of alleged internal emails that it said showed US$700 million (RM2.5 billion) involved in the deal between the state-owned Malaysian firm, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and Saudi energy company PetroSaudi was sent to a bank account belonging to a company controlled by Low. London law firm Schillings, which represents Low, said in a letter to AFP that he was "consulted" on the deal, "but has never been involved in criminal acts with respect to this transaction".
It said the allegations, which were cited in an AFP report on Tuesday, contain "substantial factual inaccuracies and false allegations".
"The allegations are entirely baseless," it said in a letter setting out Low's position on the allegations, which it termed "defamatory".
Nobody involved in the controversy has publicly disputed the authenticity of the emails cited by Sarawak Report.
Over the past year, several Malaysian media investigations into the deal have raised mounting questions over 1MDB's financial dealings and whether public funds were being abused, and Low's role.
1MDB was launched in 2009 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who still chairs its advisory board.
But it is reportedly struggling to pay off US$11 billion in debt, and critics say it has been opaque in explaining its dealings.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing in the affair, and his office has said the attacks on 1MDB are politically motivated.
1MDB denies improprieties in the PetroSaudi joint venture, maintaining that it received back all of its investment of US$1 billion in the deal, plus a US$488 million profit, and that its audited accounts prove this.
Both Low's lawyers and 1MDB denied he had ever been employed or retained by 1MDB and that he had ever had any decision-making role.
Malaysia's opposition, as well as powerful ruling-party figures such as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, have stepped up calls in recent months for a probe into 1MDB and the PetroSaudi deal.
After the Sarawak Report allegations, anti-graft watchdog Transparency International on Tuesday joined the calls for "a full investigation".
On Wednesday, Najib ordered the country's Auditor-General to "independently verify 1MDB's accounts", with the findings to be passed to a bipartisan parliamentary public accounts committee.
"If any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception," Najib said in a statement released by his office.
Sarawak Report's editor is Clare Rewcastle Brown, a Malaysia-born former BBC journalist and sister-in-law to former British prime minister Gordon Brown. – AFP, March 7, 2015.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/jho-low-denies-allegations-over-state-investment-firm#sthash.LbdmEGQh.dpuf
Lawyers for Low Taek Jho, known popularly as Jho Low, who has been at the centre of growing calls for a full investigation of the controversy, said the allegation was "false, materially misleading and is categorically denied by our client".
The accusations were contained in a report last weekend by Sarawak Report, a UK-based site run by a former BBC journalist that focuses on Malaysian corruption allegations.
The report, parts of which also appeared in the UK's Sunday Times and on Friday in The Economist, published a series of alleged internal emails that it said showed US$700 million (RM2.5 billion) involved in the deal between the state-owned Malaysian firm, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and Saudi energy company PetroSaudi was sent to a bank account belonging to a company controlled by Low. London law firm Schillings, which represents Low, said in a letter to AFP that he was "consulted" on the deal, "but has never been involved in criminal acts with respect to this transaction".
It said the allegations, which were cited in an AFP report on Tuesday, contain "substantial factual inaccuracies and false allegations".
"The allegations are entirely baseless," it said in a letter setting out Low's position on the allegations, which it termed "defamatory".
Nobody involved in the controversy has publicly disputed the authenticity of the emails cited by Sarawak Report.
Over the past year, several Malaysian media investigations into the deal have raised mounting questions over 1MDB's financial dealings and whether public funds were being abused, and Low's role.
1MDB was launched in 2009 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who still chairs its advisory board.
But it is reportedly struggling to pay off US$11 billion in debt, and critics say it has been opaque in explaining its dealings.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing in the affair, and his office has said the attacks on 1MDB are politically motivated.
1MDB denies improprieties in the PetroSaudi joint venture, maintaining that it received back all of its investment of US$1 billion in the deal, plus a US$488 million profit, and that its audited accounts prove this.
Both Low's lawyers and 1MDB denied he had ever been employed or retained by 1MDB and that he had ever had any decision-making role.
Malaysia's opposition, as well as powerful ruling-party figures such as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, have stepped up calls in recent months for a probe into 1MDB and the PetroSaudi deal.
After the Sarawak Report allegations, anti-graft watchdog Transparency International on Tuesday joined the calls for "a full investigation".
On Wednesday, Najib ordered the country's Auditor-General to "independently verify 1MDB's accounts", with the findings to be passed to a bipartisan parliamentary public accounts committee.
"If any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception," Najib said in a statement released by his office.
Sarawak Report's editor is Clare Rewcastle Brown, a Malaysia-born former BBC journalist and sister-in-law to former British prime minister Gordon Brown. – AFP, March 7, 2015.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/jho-low-denies-allegations-over-state-investment-firm#sthash.LbdmEGQh.dpuf
A
Malaysian businessman has strongly denied a report by a website that he
benefited from alleged improprieties in a complex 2009 financial deal
involving a government-owned investment company.
Lawyers for Low Taek Jho, known popularly as Jho Low, who has been at the centre of growing calls for a full investigation of the controversy, said the allegation was "false, materially misleading and is categorically denied by our client".
The accusations were contained in a report last weekend by Sarawak Report, a UK-based site run by a former BBC journalist that focuses on Malaysian corruption allegations.
The report, parts of which also appeared in the UK's Sunday Times and on Friday in The Economist, published a series of alleged internal emails that it said showed US$700 million (RM2.5 billion) involved in the deal between the state-owned Malaysian firm, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and Saudi energy company PetroSaudi was sent to a bank account belonging to a company controlled by Low. London law firm Schillings, which represents Low, said in a letter to AFP that he was "consulted" on the deal, "but has never been involved in criminal acts with respect to this transaction".
It said the allegations, which were cited in an AFP report on Tuesday, contain "substantial factual inaccuracies and false allegations".
"The allegations are entirely baseless," it said in a letter setting out Low's position on the allegations, which it termed "defamatory".
Nobody involved in the controversy has publicly disputed the authenticity of the emails cited by Sarawak Report.
Over the past year, several Malaysian media investigations into the deal have raised mounting questions over 1MDB's financial dealings and whether public funds were being abused, and Low's role.
1MDB was launched in 2009 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who still chairs its advisory board.
But it is reportedly struggling to pay off US$11 billion in debt, and critics say it has been opaque in explaining its dealings.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing in the affair, and his office has said the attacks on 1MDB are politically motivated.
1MDB denies improprieties in the PetroSaudi joint venture, maintaining that it received back all of its investment of US$1 billion in the deal, plus a US$488 million profit, and that its audited accounts prove this.
Both Low's lawyers and 1MDB denied he had ever been employed or retained by 1MDB and that he had ever had any decision-making role.
Malaysia's opposition, as well as powerful ruling-party figures such as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, have stepped up calls in recent months for a probe into 1MDB and the PetroSaudi deal.
After the Sarawak Report allegations, anti-graft watchdog Transparency International on Tuesday joined the calls for "a full investigation".
On Wednesday, Najib ordered the country's Auditor-General to "independently verify 1MDB's accounts", with the findings to be passed to a bipartisan parliamentary public accounts committee.
"If any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception," Najib said in a statement released by his office.
Sarawak Report's editor is Clare Rewcastle Brown, a Malaysia-born former BBC journalist and sister-in-law to former British prime minister Gordon Brown. – AFP, March 7, 2015.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/jho-low-denies-allegations-over-state-investment-firm#sthash.LbdmEGQh.dpuf
Lawyers for Low Taek Jho, known popularly as Jho Low, who has been at the centre of growing calls for a full investigation of the controversy, said the allegation was "false, materially misleading and is categorically denied by our client".
The accusations were contained in a report last weekend by Sarawak Report, a UK-based site run by a former BBC journalist that focuses on Malaysian corruption allegations.
The report, parts of which also appeared in the UK's Sunday Times and on Friday in The Economist, published a series of alleged internal emails that it said showed US$700 million (RM2.5 billion) involved in the deal between the state-owned Malaysian firm, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and Saudi energy company PetroSaudi was sent to a bank account belonging to a company controlled by Low. London law firm Schillings, which represents Low, said in a letter to AFP that he was "consulted" on the deal, "but has never been involved in criminal acts with respect to this transaction".
It said the allegations, which were cited in an AFP report on Tuesday, contain "substantial factual inaccuracies and false allegations".
"The allegations are entirely baseless," it said in a letter setting out Low's position on the allegations, which it termed "defamatory".
Nobody involved in the controversy has publicly disputed the authenticity of the emails cited by Sarawak Report.
Over the past year, several Malaysian media investigations into the deal have raised mounting questions over 1MDB's financial dealings and whether public funds were being abused, and Low's role.
1MDB was launched in 2009 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who still chairs its advisory board.
But it is reportedly struggling to pay off US$11 billion in debt, and critics say it has been opaque in explaining its dealings.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing in the affair, and his office has said the attacks on 1MDB are politically motivated.
1MDB denies improprieties in the PetroSaudi joint venture, maintaining that it received back all of its investment of US$1 billion in the deal, plus a US$488 million profit, and that its audited accounts prove this.
Both Low's lawyers and 1MDB denied he had ever been employed or retained by 1MDB and that he had ever had any decision-making role.
Malaysia's opposition, as well as powerful ruling-party figures such as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, have stepped up calls in recent months for a probe into 1MDB and the PetroSaudi deal.
After the Sarawak Report allegations, anti-graft watchdog Transparency International on Tuesday joined the calls for "a full investigation".
On Wednesday, Najib ordered the country's Auditor-General to "independently verify 1MDB's accounts", with the findings to be passed to a bipartisan parliamentary public accounts committee.
"If any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception," Najib said in a statement released by his office.
Sarawak Report's editor is Clare Rewcastle Brown, a Malaysia-born former BBC journalist and sister-in-law to former British prime minister Gordon Brown. – AFP, March 7, 2015.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/jho-low-denies-allegations-over-state-investment-firm#sthash.LbdmEGQh.dpuf
A
Malaysian businessman has strongly denied a report by a website that he
benefited from alleged improprieties in a complex 2009 financial deal
involving a government-owned investment company.
Lawyers for Low Taek Jho, known popularly as Jho Low, who has been at the centre of growing calls for a full investigation of the controversy, said the allegation was "false, materially misleading and is categorically denied by our client".
The accusations were contained in a report last weekend by Sarawak Report, a UK-based site run by a former BBC journalist that focuses on Malaysian corruption allegations.
The report, parts of which also appeared in the UK's Sunday Times and on Friday in The Economist, published a series of alleged internal emails that it said showed US$700 million (RM2.5 billion) involved in the deal between the state-owned Malaysian firm, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and Saudi energy company PetroSaudi was sent to a bank account belonging to a company controlled by Low. London law firm Schillings, which represents Low, said in a letter to AFP that he was "consulted" on the deal, "but has never been involved in criminal acts with respect to this transaction".
It said the allegations, which were cited in an AFP report on Tuesday, contain "substantial factual inaccuracies and false allegations".
"The allegations are entirely baseless," it said in a letter setting out Low's position on the allegations, which it termed "defamatory".
Nobody involved in the controversy has publicly disputed the authenticity of the emails cited by Sarawak Report.
Over the past year, several Malaysian media investigations into the deal have raised mounting questions over 1MDB's financial dealings and whether public funds were being abused, and Low's role.
1MDB was launched in 2009 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who still chairs its advisory board.
But it is reportedly struggling to pay off US$11 billion in debt, and critics say it has been opaque in explaining its dealings.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing in the affair, and his office has said the attacks on 1MDB are politically motivated.
1MDB denies improprieties in the PetroSaudi joint venture, maintaining that it received back all of its investment of US$1 billion in the deal, plus a US$488 million profit, and that its audited accounts prove this.
Both Low's lawyers and 1MDB denied he had ever been employed or retained by 1MDB and that he had ever had any decision-making role.
Malaysia's opposition, as well as powerful ruling-party figures such as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, have stepped up calls in recent months for a probe into 1MDB and the PetroSaudi deal.
After the Sarawak Report allegations, anti-graft watchdog Transparency International on Tuesday joined the calls for "a full investigation".
On Wednesday, Najib ordered the country's Auditor-General to "independently verify 1MDB's accounts", with the findings to be passed to a bipartisan parliamentary public accounts committee.
"If any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception," Najib said in a statement released by his office.
Sarawak Report's editor is Clare Rewcastle Brown, a Malaysia-born former BBC journalist and sister-in-law to former British prime minister Gordon Brown. – AFP, March 7, 2015.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/jho-low-denies-allegations-over-state-investment-firm#sthash.LbdmEGQh.dpuf
Lawyers for Low Taek Jho, known popularly as Jho Low, who has been at the centre of growing calls for a full investigation of the controversy, said the allegation was "false, materially misleading and is categorically denied by our client".
The accusations were contained in a report last weekend by Sarawak Report, a UK-based site run by a former BBC journalist that focuses on Malaysian corruption allegations.
The report, parts of which also appeared in the UK's Sunday Times and on Friday in The Economist, published a series of alleged internal emails that it said showed US$700 million (RM2.5 billion) involved in the deal between the state-owned Malaysian firm, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and Saudi energy company PetroSaudi was sent to a bank account belonging to a company controlled by Low. London law firm Schillings, which represents Low, said in a letter to AFP that he was "consulted" on the deal, "but has never been involved in criminal acts with respect to this transaction".
It said the allegations, which were cited in an AFP report on Tuesday, contain "substantial factual inaccuracies and false allegations".
"The allegations are entirely baseless," it said in a letter setting out Low's position on the allegations, which it termed "defamatory".
Nobody involved in the controversy has publicly disputed the authenticity of the emails cited by Sarawak Report.
Over the past year, several Malaysian media investigations into the deal have raised mounting questions over 1MDB's financial dealings and whether public funds were being abused, and Low's role.
1MDB was launched in 2009 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who still chairs its advisory board.
But it is reportedly struggling to pay off US$11 billion in debt, and critics say it has been opaque in explaining its dealings.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing in the affair, and his office has said the attacks on 1MDB are politically motivated.
1MDB denies improprieties in the PetroSaudi joint venture, maintaining that it received back all of its investment of US$1 billion in the deal, plus a US$488 million profit, and that its audited accounts prove this.
Both Low's lawyers and 1MDB denied he had ever been employed or retained by 1MDB and that he had ever had any decision-making role.
Malaysia's opposition, as well as powerful ruling-party figures such as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, have stepped up calls in recent months for a probe into 1MDB and the PetroSaudi deal.
After the Sarawak Report allegations, anti-graft watchdog Transparency International on Tuesday joined the calls for "a full investigation".
On Wednesday, Najib ordered the country's Auditor-General to "independently verify 1MDB's accounts", with the findings to be passed to a bipartisan parliamentary public accounts committee.
"If any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception," Najib said in a statement released by his office.
Sarawak Report's editor is Clare Rewcastle Brown, a Malaysia-born former BBC journalist and sister-in-law to former British prime minister Gordon Brown. – AFP, March 7, 2015.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/jho-low-denies-allegations-over-state-investment-firm#sthash.LbdmEGQh.dpuf
A
Malaysian businessman has strongly denied a report by a website that he
benefited from alleged improprieties in a complex 2009 financial deal
involving a government-owned investment company.
Lawyers for Low Taek Jho, known popularly as Jho Low, who has been at the centre of growing calls for a full investigation of the controversy, said the allegation was "false, materially misleading and is categorically denied by our client".
The accusations were contained in a report last weekend by Sarawak Report, a UK-based site run by a former BBC journalist that focuses on Malaysian corruption allegations.
The report, parts of which also appeared in the UK's Sunday Times and on Friday in The Economist, published a series of alleged internal emails that it said showed US$700 million (RM2.5 billion) involved in the deal between the state-owned Malaysian firm, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and Saudi energy company PetroSaudi was sent to a bank account belonging to a company controlled by Low. London law firm Schillings, which represents Low, said in a letter to AFP that he was "consulted" on the deal, "but has never been involved in criminal acts with respect to this transaction".
It said the allegations, which were cited in an AFP report on Tuesday, contain "substantial factual inaccuracies and false allegations".
"The allegations are entirely baseless," it said in a letter setting out Low's position on the allegations, which it termed "defamatory".
Nobody involved in the controversy has publicly disputed the authenticity of the emails cited by Sarawak Report.
Over the past year, several Malaysian media investigations into the deal have raised mounting questions over 1MDB's financial dealings and whether public funds were being abused, and Low's role.
1MDB was launched in 2009 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who still chairs its advisory board.
But it is reportedly struggling to pay off US$11 billion in debt, and critics say it has been opaque in explaining its dealings.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing in the affair, and his office has said the attacks on 1MDB are politically motivated.
1MDB denies improprieties in the PetroSaudi joint venture, maintaining that it received back all of its investment of US$1 billion in the deal, plus a US$488 million profit, and that its audited accounts prove this.
Both Low's lawyers and 1MDB denied he had ever been employed or retained by 1MDB and that he had ever had any decision-making role.
Malaysia's opposition, as well as powerful ruling-party figures such as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, have stepped up calls in recent months for a probe into 1MDB and the PetroSaudi deal.
After the Sarawak Report allegations, anti-graft watchdog Transparency International on Tuesday joined the calls for "a full investigation".
On Wednesday, Najib ordered the country's Auditor-General to "independently verify 1MDB's accounts", with the findings to be passed to a bipartisan parliamentary public accounts committee.
"If any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception," Najib said in a statement released by his office.
Sarawak Report's editor is Clare Rewcastle Brown, a Malaysia-born former BBC journalist and sister-in-law to former British prime minister Gordon Brown. – AFP, March 7, 2015.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/jho-low-denies-allegations-over-state-investment-firm#sthash.LbdmEGQh.dpuf
Lawyers for Low Taek Jho, known popularly as Jho Low, who has been at the centre of growing calls for a full investigation of the controversy, said the allegation was "false, materially misleading and is categorically denied by our client".
The accusations were contained in a report last weekend by Sarawak Report, a UK-based site run by a former BBC journalist that focuses on Malaysian corruption allegations.
The report, parts of which also appeared in the UK's Sunday Times and on Friday in The Economist, published a series of alleged internal emails that it said showed US$700 million (RM2.5 billion) involved in the deal between the state-owned Malaysian firm, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and Saudi energy company PetroSaudi was sent to a bank account belonging to a company controlled by Low. London law firm Schillings, which represents Low, said in a letter to AFP that he was "consulted" on the deal, "but has never been involved in criminal acts with respect to this transaction".
It said the allegations, which were cited in an AFP report on Tuesday, contain "substantial factual inaccuracies and false allegations".
"The allegations are entirely baseless," it said in a letter setting out Low's position on the allegations, which it termed "defamatory".
Nobody involved in the controversy has publicly disputed the authenticity of the emails cited by Sarawak Report.
Over the past year, several Malaysian media investigations into the deal have raised mounting questions over 1MDB's financial dealings and whether public funds were being abused, and Low's role.
1MDB was launched in 2009 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who still chairs its advisory board.
But it is reportedly struggling to pay off US$11 billion in debt, and critics say it has been opaque in explaining its dealings.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing in the affair, and his office has said the attacks on 1MDB are politically motivated.
1MDB denies improprieties in the PetroSaudi joint venture, maintaining that it received back all of its investment of US$1 billion in the deal, plus a US$488 million profit, and that its audited accounts prove this.
Both Low's lawyers and 1MDB denied he had ever been employed or retained by 1MDB and that he had ever had any decision-making role.
Malaysia's opposition, as well as powerful ruling-party figures such as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, have stepped up calls in recent months for a probe into 1MDB and the PetroSaudi deal.
After the Sarawak Report allegations, anti-graft watchdog Transparency International on Tuesday joined the calls for "a full investigation".
On Wednesday, Najib ordered the country's Auditor-General to "independently verify 1MDB's accounts", with the findings to be passed to a bipartisan parliamentary public accounts committee.
"If any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception," Najib said in a statement released by his office.
Sarawak Report's editor is Clare Rewcastle Brown, a Malaysia-born former BBC journalist and sister-in-law to former British prime minister Gordon Brown. – AFP, March 7, 2015.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/jho-low-denies-allegations-over-state-investment-firm#sthash.LbdmEGQh.dpuf
Jho Low denies allegations over state investment firm
Media
investigations have raised mounting questions over 1Malaysia
Development Berhad (1MDB)’s financial dealings and whether public funds
have been abused. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, March 7, 2015.A
Malaysian businessman has strongly denied a report by a website that he
benefited from alleged improprieties in a complex 2009 financial deal
involving a government-owned investment company.Lawyers for Low Taek Jho, known popularly as Jho Low, who has been at the centre of growing calls for a full investigation of the controversy, said the allegation was "false, materially misleading and is categorically denied by our client".
The accusations were contained in a report last weekend by Sarawak Report, a UK-based site run by a former BBC journalist that focuses on Malaysian corruption allegations.
The report, parts of which also appeared in the UK's Sunday Times and on Friday in The Economist, published a series of alleged internal emails that it said showed US$700 million (RM2.5 billion) involved in the deal between the state-owned Malaysian firm, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and Saudi energy company PetroSaudi was sent to a bank account belonging to a company controlled by Low. London law firm Schillings, which represents Low, said in a letter to AFP that he was "consulted" on the deal, "but has never been involved in criminal acts with respect to this transaction".
It said the allegations, which were cited in an AFP report on Tuesday, contain "substantial factual inaccuracies and false allegations".
"The allegations are entirely baseless," it said in a letter setting out Low's position on the allegations, which it termed "defamatory".
Nobody involved in the controversy has publicly disputed the authenticity of the emails cited by Sarawak Report.
Over the past year, several Malaysian media investigations into the deal have raised mounting questions over 1MDB's financial dealings and whether public funds were being abused, and Low's role.
1MDB was launched in 2009 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who still chairs its advisory board.
But it is reportedly struggling to pay off US$11 billion in debt, and critics say it has been opaque in explaining its dealings.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing in the affair, and his office has said the attacks on 1MDB are politically motivated.
1MDB denies improprieties in the PetroSaudi joint venture, maintaining that it received back all of its investment of US$1 billion in the deal, plus a US$488 million profit, and that its audited accounts prove this.
Both Low's lawyers and 1MDB denied he had ever been employed or retained by 1MDB and that he had ever had any decision-making role.
Malaysia's opposition, as well as powerful ruling-party figures such as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, have stepped up calls in recent months for a probe into 1MDB and the PetroSaudi deal.
After the Sarawak Report allegations, anti-graft watchdog Transparency International on Tuesday joined the calls for "a full investigation".
On Wednesday, Najib ordered the country's Auditor-General to "independently verify 1MDB's accounts", with the findings to be passed to a bipartisan parliamentary public accounts committee.
"If any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception," Najib said in a statement released by his office.
Sarawak Report's editor is Clare Rewcastle Brown, a Malaysia-born former BBC journalist and sister-in-law to former British prime minister Gordon Brown. – AFP, March 7, 2015.
KUALA
LUMPUR, March 6 — 1Malaysia Development Bhd, set up by the government
five years ago to build infrastructure, is preparing to submit an
application for initial public offering for its Edra Energy Bhd unit by
May, people familiar with the matter said.1MDB plans to raise as much as US$3 billion (RM11 billion) from the domestic share sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the details are private.
The state investment company is listing its energy unit as part of a strategy announced last month to dismantle its assets and wind down the company. It has drawn criticism from lawmakers for its rising borrowings, which totalled RM41.9 billion (US$11.5 billion) through March 2014.
The Kuala Lumpur-based company’s US$3 billion of 4.4 per cent notes due 2023 fell 0.8 cents to 85.75 cents on the dollar as of 5.32pm in Hong Kong, a record low, to yield 6.73 per cent, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg. The notes were sold to investors at par, or 100 cents on the dollar, in March 2013.
1MDB has 3,112 megawatts of local generating capacity and 2,482MW overseas, its website shows. Last March it won a bid to build an RM11-billion coal-fired power plant in Malaysia, known as Project 3B, with Japan’s Mitsui & Co, according to its latest annual report.
The company won’t include Project 3B in the power asset IPO, as potential returns from the greenfield project are not as high as its other energy assets, the people said. An official from 1MDB, who asked not to be named citing company policy, declined to comment when contacted by phone.
Independent verification
1MDB won’t undertake any new investments or projects after it sets up standalone entities for its two major property projects and raises cash from selling its power business, it said in a February 18 statement. The firm, whose advisory board is headed by Prime Minister Najib Razak, said it expects to implement the plans over the next 12 months.
Najib has instructed the Auditor General to “independently verify” the accounts of the state investment company, his office said in a statement on Wednesday. The Auditor General’s report will be passed on to the parliament’s Public Accounts Committee for inspection, and the law will be enforced “without exception” if any wrongdoing is proven, Najib said.
1MDB and their auditors Deloitte met the Cabinet this week to address recent media reports on the company and the use of its funds. The company has been the target of “politically motivated” attacks that “could potentially harm the economy”, 1MDB president and group executive director Arul Kanda said on Wednesday.
The firm said on February 13 it settled RM2 billion of loans owing to Malayan Banking Bhd and four other banks, paving the way for the delayed power IPO to go ahead.
Oil royalties
1MDB has its origins in Terengganu Investment Authority, which was created in 2009 to invest oil royalties from the state of Terengganu. When Najib became prime minister that year, it was renamed 1MDB, became a national entity and its funding source was changed to government-backed debt instead of oil income.
It built an energy business by acquiring assets from Malaysian billionaire T. Ananda Krishnan and Genting Bhd, and planned a new financial district in Kuala Lumpur known as Tun Razak Exchange with land purchased from the government. 1MDB is also developing Bandar Malaysia, a 200-hectare mixed-use project that will include a terminal for the proposed high-speed train to Singapore.
The company came under scrutiny from parliament in 2013 after singling out Goldman Sachs Group Inc to manage the sales of US$6.5 billion of conventional dollar bonds. Opposition politicians said the amount the US investment bank made in commissions and trading gains were excessive. Goldman Sachs made about US$500 million for managing the sales, a person familiar with the matter said in May 2013. — Bloomberg
So meanw'ile, can I long-windedly Cut&Pastry something olde, but in my mind, goldish...:)~~~
Friday, December 12, 2014
Malaysians would get a double whammy when world oil price falls further!
We enjoyed a 4sen decrease in pump rpices recently, BUT THE GOVERNMENT RAISED PRICES BY20SEN OR 30SEN for several occasions over the past few years.
The government thinks it can fool the people ALL THE TIME?
Read the following news report today:
Oil closes below $60, 1st time since July 2009
A late session dip pushes oil below $60 for the first time since July 2009
By | Associated Press – 7 hours agoThe price of oil fell below $60 for the first time since July 2009 on Thursday and ended trading in New York at $59.95.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil dropped 99 cents, or 1.6 percent. Oil has fallen steadily for nearly six months, and is down 44 percent since reaching a high for the year of $107.26 in late June.
"We don't see a price bottom," wrote energy analyst Jim Ritterbusch in a note to investors. He expects oil to fall further, toward $55 a barrel, in the short term.
The drop is a result of rising global oil production, especially in the U.S., at a time when demand has weakened because of slowing economies in Asia and Europe.
OPEC said this week that higher production from non-OPEC members and global economic growth will reduce demand for its oil to 28.9 million barrels a day next year. That's the lowest level in more than a decade, and far less than the 30 million barrels per day that the group says it plans to produce next year.
The price collapse has pushed down prices for gasoline, diesel and other fuels, lowering expenses for drivers, shippers and airlines and giving a boost to consumer-driven economies like that of the U.S.
The average price of gasoline in the U.S. fell to $2.61 a gallon Thursday, according to AAA. That's 64 cents below last year at this time, saving U.S. drivers $7 billion a month. The Energy Department predicted this week that lower gasoline prices next year will save a typical U.S. household $550 over the course of the year.
Lower crude prices have sent the share prices of oil companies and drilling services companies spiraling lower, though, and caused many to cut back drilling projects.
As a result, the Energy Department this week trimmed its forecast for oil production growth in the U.S. for next year, though it still expects a sizeable increase. BP announced a $1 billion restructuring plan this week that analysts said could result in the elimination of thousands of jobs.
The lower prices are also pressuring government budgets in oil-producing U.S. states and cash-hungry oil exporters such as Iraq, Iran, Russia and Venezuela.
************************************************
So now WHAT happens?
Hey, our national oil corporation will now report a fall in revenues and profitsd; so my prediction is the government will use the argument that SINCE OIL REVENUE CONTRIBUTION FROM PETRONAS TO THE NATIONAL COFFERS WILL "FALL" NEXT YEAR (2015), the pump prices will see a rise to compensate for the government's decrease in revenue from Petronas.
EITHER WAY, THE RAKYAT WILL PAY as the subsidies argument will be ngated by the nett decrease in Petronas' contribution to government coffers. So don't celebration the 4-sen decrease in oil price at the pump.
We the Rakyat should have been GIFTED ower prices when the world oil prices rose to dizzyting heights nearing USD150per barrel, FOR WE ARE A NETT OIL PRODUCER-cum-EXPORTER.
No, the government would compare our oil pump prices with those in OTHER "Non-oil Producing" countries.
Desi asks my ER to be patient while I temporarily take leave and later retrieve relevant arguments form my OLDER posts, cun? "ENJOY" thy lunch break, OK! Tapau fishhead curry for me, can?:)
*********************************************
MEANWHILE, fellow blogger at kosongcafe.blogspot.com has this write:
Friday, December 12, 2014
Brace ourselves for some belt-tightening this coming new year
We are in for some difficult times ahead, even before the implementation of GST. As an oil producing country, we are affected by the drastic drop in oil prices. Though we might be able to get some benefits out of it, but we have yet to see it translated into lower fuel prices. The government will face lower revenues from Petronas but has to maintain salaries and bonuses as well as hand-outs like BR1M.
I have just read an article which revealed that some top oil and gas related companies listed on Bursa Saham Malaysia had their market capitalizations reduced by Rm33 billions when compared with their prices as at July 1, 2014.
We, the public, are definitely going to be affected adversely from this drastic drop in share prices, in one way or other. If even Petronas has to cut capex or other related expenditures by 20%, it would affect those relying on the company for their business revenues. They in turn, would reduce their spendings and affect lesser companies who rely on them for business. Employees of such companies would face no salary increases, bonuses, or even the sack! The effects would eventually be felt by the people, in terms of purchases of houses, cars or even going out to fancy restaurants or entertainment centres.
To the super rich, who each owns and controls such companies, their personal wealth would have been reduced (at least on paper) by hundreds of millions, if not billions. To put in perspective, a super rich could have sold off all his shares on July 1, put all his money in the bank and now buy back at less than half or even one third of what he sold for. Just imagine what he could have done with the profits made! But the reality is that he cannot do that, unless he was already prepared to lose control of his companies. But even the effect of just selling some shares could mean making enough to buy extra properties and luxury cars.
To ordinary mortals like us, most of us would have kept some shares and see them losing values, day after day until they are worth probably half of what they used to. For those who kept all their money in the share market, it could have been worse because each time he needs money, he has to sell shares at a loss... reluctantly but with no choice. It might be a good time to switch from not-so-good counters to really good ones, but the feeling of realising book losses to do that can have the effect of 'seller's remorse' - a term I have just learned from watching Pickers!
__________________________________________________________
Today's newspapers all reported on the PM suing the MP for Petaling Jaya Utara YB Tony Pua for his "allegations" related to IMDB and Najib's role in the scheme of things; the esteemed Blogger-MP may yet get the last laugh:)~~~
UPDATED at 4.10PM, March 7, 2015,
from tonypua.blogspot.com~~~~
Monday, March 02, 2015
Dato Seri Najib Razak Cannot Just Shake Off All Responsibilities On 1MDB
Datuk Seri Najib Razak cannot disassociate himself from the “heist of
the century”. He must answer if not for his complicity in the RM42
billion scandal, then for his negligence and incompetence in managing
and monitoring his cornerstone investment vehicle, 1Malaysia Development
Bhd.
The Sarawak Report has once again exposed new documents, including countless email communications between all parties related to the 1MDB Petrosaudi US$1 billion (RM3.5 billion) investment transaction. These documents point clearly towards an elaborate scam to siphon money from 1MDB into a Swiss bank account owned by Jho Low's private company. The 1MDB money was raised from debt guaranteed by the Federal Government.
The story was also published in The Sunday Times in the UK which sought a response from the Prime Minister’s Office. Instead of confirming or denying the veracity of the documents and emails published, and the information contained in them, it appears that Dato’ Seri Najib Razak is more concerned about distancing his ties to the now scandalous company.
"The Malaysian government said the prime minister was not involved in the day-to-day operations of 1MDB, which is run by a professional and experienced team. Its accounts were audited by Deloitte," The Sunday Times reported in the March 1 article.
The response even attempted to negatively taint the whistleblowers’ report, that “views expressed by certain quarters concerning 1MDB should be examined in light of political motivation”.
The Prime Minister, who also happens to be the Finance Minister must realise that whether there was “political motivation” or otherwise is irrelevant to the matter at hand. I, for example, would seek to expose all corrupt activities of the ruling government to remove them during the next general elections. What is more important, is whether the documents and email communications are genuine.
If these documents and email communications are indeed genuine, then the Government must answer for the brazen abuse of power in siphoning money from the wholly-owned Ministry of Finance subsidiary.
Under such circumstances, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak, who is also the Chairman of the 1MDB Board of Advisors must be held ultimately responsible because “1MDB” was his baby project from the very start. The Prime Minister certainly cannot disclaim responsibility by claiming that he “was not involved in the day-to-day operations of 1MDB”.
After all, Najib wrote on his Facebook yesterday, “I would like to emphasise here that 1MDB is a strategic investment firm owned by the government of Malaysia, and I would never allow anyone to use or divert public funds for their personal gain.”
The 1MDB issue isn’t a new one. I had submitted my first question on 1MDB in Parliament on Februaray 2010. I’ve since then submitted dozens of questions and spoke on many occasions in Parliament demanding answers from the Ministers. I’ve written countless press statements and held many media conferences to point out the many problems affecting 1MDB.
Even if the Prime Minister is indeed not complicit in the serious hanky-panky in the Company, he is guilty of gross negligence and incompetence in managing 1MDB under his Ministry. He is guilty because the opposition and the media have played our role in digging up all the scandals in 1MDB and yet each time, Najib or his Ministers and Deputies would resolutely defend 1MDB. They would shamelessly boast that 1MDB is in “sound financial health”, “backed by quality assets” and managed by “a professional and experienced team”.
All that flies in the face of the facts we have today – that 1MDB could not repay a RM2 billion without begging for a loan from local billionaire, Tan Sri Ananda Krishnan, that 1MDB had to request for a RM3 billion emergency bailout fund from the Cabinet and that 1MDB has been unable to show proof that it had cash of US$1.1 billion (RM3.9 billion) parked anonymously overseas after disposing of its Cayman investments.
How can the Finance and Prime Minister allow the 1MDB shenanigans to sink to the current level of RM42 billion in debt while becoming practically insolvent?
Therefore we would like to fully support DAP Parliamentary Leader, Lim Kit Siang’s call for Najib to set up the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the RM42 billion “mother of the mother of the mother of all scandals” so that Malaysians can not only discover the complete truth, but the crooks behind and abetting the scams will be punished and put behind bars.
The Sarawak Report has once again exposed new documents, including countless email communications between all parties related to the 1MDB Petrosaudi US$1 billion (RM3.5 billion) investment transaction. These documents point clearly towards an elaborate scam to siphon money from 1MDB into a Swiss bank account owned by Jho Low's private company. The 1MDB money was raised from debt guaranteed by the Federal Government.
The story was also published in The Sunday Times in the UK which sought a response from the Prime Minister’s Office. Instead of confirming or denying the veracity of the documents and emails published, and the information contained in them, it appears that Dato’ Seri Najib Razak is more concerned about distancing his ties to the now scandalous company.
"The Malaysian government said the prime minister was not involved in the day-to-day operations of 1MDB, which is run by a professional and experienced team. Its accounts were audited by Deloitte," The Sunday Times reported in the March 1 article.
The response even attempted to negatively taint the whistleblowers’ report, that “views expressed by certain quarters concerning 1MDB should be examined in light of political motivation”.
The Prime Minister, who also happens to be the Finance Minister must realise that whether there was “political motivation” or otherwise is irrelevant to the matter at hand. I, for example, would seek to expose all corrupt activities of the ruling government to remove them during the next general elections. What is more important, is whether the documents and email communications are genuine.
If these documents and email communications are indeed genuine, then the Government must answer for the brazen abuse of power in siphoning money from the wholly-owned Ministry of Finance subsidiary.
Under such circumstances, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak, who is also the Chairman of the 1MDB Board of Advisors must be held ultimately responsible because “1MDB” was his baby project from the very start. The Prime Minister certainly cannot disclaim responsibility by claiming that he “was not involved in the day-to-day operations of 1MDB”.
After all, Najib wrote on his Facebook yesterday, “I would like to emphasise here that 1MDB is a strategic investment firm owned by the government of Malaysia, and I would never allow anyone to use or divert public funds for their personal gain.”
The 1MDB issue isn’t a new one. I had submitted my first question on 1MDB in Parliament on Februaray 2010. I’ve since then submitted dozens of questions and spoke on many occasions in Parliament demanding answers from the Ministers. I’ve written countless press statements and held many media conferences to point out the many problems affecting 1MDB.
Even if the Prime Minister is indeed not complicit in the serious hanky-panky in the Company, he is guilty of gross negligence and incompetence in managing 1MDB under his Ministry. He is guilty because the opposition and the media have played our role in digging up all the scandals in 1MDB and yet each time, Najib or his Ministers and Deputies would resolutely defend 1MDB. They would shamelessly boast that 1MDB is in “sound financial health”, “backed by quality assets” and managed by “a professional and experienced team”.
All that flies in the face of the facts we have today – that 1MDB could not repay a RM2 billion without begging for a loan from local billionaire, Tan Sri Ananda Krishnan, that 1MDB had to request for a RM3 billion emergency bailout fund from the Cabinet and that 1MDB has been unable to show proof that it had cash of US$1.1 billion (RM3.9 billion) parked anonymously overseas after disposing of its Cayman investments.
How can the Finance and Prime Minister allow the 1MDB shenanigans to sink to the current level of RM42 billion in debt while becoming practically insolvent?
Therefore we would like to fully support DAP Parliamentary Leader, Lim Kit Siang’s call for Najib to set up the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the RM42 billion “mother of the mother of the mother of all scandals” so that Malaysians can not only discover the complete truth, but the crooks behind and abetting the scams will be punished and put behind bars.
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2015
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- ► February (6)
- DESI: To be fair and balanced, here's a report from the rakyatpost.com from 1MDB's perspective:) or :(
- *****************************
- KUALA LUMPUR, March 6, 2015:1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) insists it is here to stay and denied a Reuters report that it may be dissolved soon, with its assets sold off.A source said the Reuters report had misconstrued the strategic review report that 1MDB had issued on Feb 18.In the strategic review report, 1MDB had said: “Edra Energy, TRX and Bandar Malaysia will be run as standalone entities, with independent governance structures, and responsibility for their own operations and finances.“Both entities will continue to be ultimately owned by the Ministry of Finance, thereby ensuring that their significant future value benefits the rakyat.”The source said Reuters likely misinterpreted this statement as meaning the review process would turn 1MDB into a skeletal structure that could eventually be dissolved completely.
- REPEAT READ MORE>>>>> IF YOU CARE TO tap on the link (+++++ below):
-
SOURCE:
TRP
(+++++)Read more: http://www.therakyatpost.com/business/2015/03/06/1mdb-says-its-here-to-stay/#ixzz3TgbtfjpW
Jho Low denies allegations over state investment firm
Media
investigations have raised mounting questions over 1Malaysia
Development Berhad (1MDB)’s financial dealings and whether public funds
have been abused. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, March 7, 2015.A
Malaysian businessman has strongly denied a report by a website that he
benefited from alleged improprieties in a complex 2009 financial deal
involving a government-owned investment company.Lawyers for Low Taek Jho, known popularly as Jho Low, who has been at the centre of growing calls for a full investigation of the controversy, said the allegation was "false, materially misleading and is categorically denied by our client".
The accusations were contained in a report last weekend by Sarawak Report, a UK-based site run by a former BBC journalist that focuses on Malaysian corruption allegations.
The report, parts of which also appeared in the UK's Sunday Times and on Friday in The Economist, published a series of alleged internal emails that it said showed US$700 million (RM2.5 billion) involved in the deal between the state-owned Malaysian firm, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and Saudi energy company PetroSaudi was sent to a bank account belonging to a company controlled by Low. London law firm Schillings, which represents Low, said in a letter to AFP that he was "consulted" on the deal, "but has never been involved in criminal acts with respect to this transaction".
It said the allegations, which were cited in an AFP report on Tuesday, contain "substantial factual inaccuracies and false allegations".
"The allegations are entirely baseless," it said in a letter setting out Low's position on the allegations, which it termed "defamatory".
Nobody involved in the controversy has publicly disputed the authenticity of the emails cited by Sarawak Report.
Over the past year, several Malaysian media investigations into the deal have raised mounting questions over 1MDB's financial dealings and whether public funds were being abused, and Low's role.
1MDB was launched in 2009 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who still chairs its advisory board.
But it is reportedly struggling to pay off US$11 billion in debt, and critics say it has been opaque in explaining its dealings.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing in the affair, and his office has said the attacks on 1MDB are politically motivated.
1MDB denies improprieties in the PetroSaudi joint venture, maintaining that it received back all of its investment of US$1 billion in the deal, plus a US$488 million profit, and that its audited accounts prove this.
Both Low's lawyers and 1MDB denied he had ever been employed or retained by 1MDB and that he had ever had any decision-making role.
Malaysia's opposition, as well as powerful ruling-party figures such as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, have stepped up calls in recent months for a probe into 1MDB and the PetroSaudi deal.
After the Sarawak Report allegations, anti-graft watchdog Transparency International on Tuesday joined the calls for "a full investigation".
On Wednesday, Najib ordered the country's Auditor-General to "independently verify 1MDB's accounts", with the findings to be passed to a bipartisan parliamentary public accounts committee.
"If any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception," Najib said in a statement released by his office.
Sarawak Report's editor is Clare Rewcastle Brown, a Malaysia-born former BBC journalist and sister-in-law to former British prime minister Gordon Brown. – AFP, March 7, 2015.
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