from jebatmustdie.wordpress.com, sourcing from malaysiakini.com's P.GUNASEGARAM fab write:~~~
jebatmustdie
This site is dedicated to opinion pieces by pundits and the intelligentsia; mostly on politics and socio-economics
Game over for 1MDB and Najib? – P Gunasegaram
Out of that RM51 billion of assets that
1MDB has, as much as RM33 billion may never be recovered, allegedly
embezzled through a number of crooked deals which no Malaysian authority
is investigating at the moment.
And if you include other losses such as
mispricing of bonds (RM6 billion), overpayment to advisers (RM2 billion)
and overpayment for energy assets (RM3 billion), the figure comes up to
an astronomical RM44 billion in losses to the country.
No, these are not crazy figures plucked from the air. Here’s how we derived them.
In July last year, it was reported that
then deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that 1MDB’s total debts
amounted to RM50 billion. Previous reports cited an asset base of RM51
billion, the higher asset base being due to revaluation of government
land acquired cheaply earlier.
That RM50 billion figure remains
unchallenged to this day. 1MDB sold its power assets to Chinese
interests for just under RM10 billion late last year. The sale has been
completed now. Using 1MDB’s own figures, the sale of the power assets,
extinguished RM16 billion debt, out of which half was inherited debt,
that is debt within the various energy companies.
Take that RM16 billion out of RM50
billion in debt, and the amount remaining is RM34 billion. 1MDB likes to
proudly say that it has no more bank debt, but fact is it has tonnes of
debt still in the form of bonds – a RM5 billion Islamic term note,
RM2.4 billion sukuk, US$3.5 billion (about RM14 billion in two equal
bonds, both guaranteed by the International Petroleum Investment Company
or IPIC of Abu Dhabi), and US$3 billion (about RM12 billion) in bonds
issued with a letter of support from the Malaysian government.
Where has the money taken from these
bonds gone? We know that the US$3.5 billion or RM14 billion went, or was
supposed to go to IPIC and its subsidiary Aabar Investments PJS.
Instead it went into a similar-named company Aabar Investments PJS but
incorporated in British Virgin Islands. Why? No one knows. But the money
is missing, and neither IPIC/Aabar nor 1MDB know where RM14 billion has
gone – or at least that’s what they say.
Next is the US$3 billion or RM12 billion
bond. This was supposed to be 1MDB’s 50% contribution into Abu Dhabi
Malaysia Investment Co Ltd or ADMIC, a blank cheque investment with no
specified investment target. Aabar is supposed to put an equal US$3
billion into the company but there is no indication that it did.
Here’s what the Goldman Sach’s bond
document dated March 8, 2013 said: “…it is anticipated that Aabar will
not yet have contributed sufficient capital to meet its obligations
under the joint-venture agreement. The issuer has no control over Aabar
and there can be no assurance that Aabar will meet its funding
obligations.”
It is not clear where that RM12 billion went and it may well be at risk. These are treated in detail in this article.
And then the first RM5 billion Islamic
medium term notes in 2009 – the one that set it all off. All of it and
more was invested – eventually over RM7 billion – in a dubious venture
called 1MDB-PetroSaudi Ltd with Saudi Arabian personalities. It is still
not clearly established where this money is.
Now, add that up, and at least RM33
billion (RM14 billion + RM12 billion + RM7 billion) out of these bonds
may never be recovered. There may well be more. Besides the energy
assets bought from Malaysian companies for which it overpaid by about
RM3 billion, what did our self-styled strategic development company
invest in? Not much.
Numbers cannot be hidden
1MDB did a dirty sneaky trick when it
allowed others to make an estimated RM6 billion by deliberately
mispricing some of its key bonds. By flipping these bonds at higher
prices once they are traded in the market, those who got first bite made
billions. Meantime 1MDB and the nation pays higher interest rates.
And then there was the overpayment for
their advisers, Goldman Sachs, by about RM2 billion for the various
bonds they arranged – a loss of RM2 billion to the nation.
Add these up (RM3 billion + RM6 billion +
RM2 billion), and they amount to RM11 billion. Add this to the RM33
billion in bond proceeds and investments that may never get recovered,
and you get that RM44 billion. The final figure may well exceed that!
Those numbers cannot be hidden or hushed
up. You can’t hide the movement of such large sums of money across
international borders forever. Eventually the international authorities
will get to the bottom of it and all will be revealed. The amount of
fraud committed will become obvious and it will become impossible to
deny it.
All the land that 1MDB has now is not
worth that much – it’s not enough to cover the losses. The black hole
that is 1MDB is already very obvious and soon more and more losses will
crystallise while investigators across the globe tighten their noose on
the miscreants – it’s a matter of time before they are nailed.
That means game over for 1MDB with losses
of at least RM44 billion or more, and by extension for Najib Razak, the
prime minister and 1MDB sponsor whose reign at the top continues to
prolong the agony and prevent investigation to bring this to closure,
among the saddest, longest chapters of our country’s history. – P. Gunasegaram
You might also like to read:1) Arul Kanda Replies Jebat JMD
2) Hikayat 1MDB
3) Ayat DiPotong Hasan PAC Bukan Hanya Isu Kaitan Jho Low Tapi Ia Adalah Master Key Penipuan 1MDB!
4) PENIPUAN DALAM 1MDB
5) More Of Jho Low’s Foreign Helpers Feel The Squeeze – Coutts Zurich Questioned
6) Arul, come clean and own up to all the frauds in 1MDB
7) Royal Bank of Scotland sucked into 1MDB probe
8) 1MDB IPIC FEUD – SEE YOU IN COURT
No comments:
Post a Comment