Desi is totally upset and disgusted reading the following.
From :--`
Saturday, 15 October 2016
Malaysian Fund 1MDB Linked to White House Visit ; Investigators look into whether money embezzled from the fund paid for lobbying seeking closer U.S.-Malaysian relations
The investigation into the corruption scandal rocking Malaysia's 1MDB
development fund has reached the White House. WSJ's Bradley Hope has
exclusive details on Lunch Break with Tanya Rivero. Photo: Getty
WASHINGTON—Malaysia’s government-fund scandal, one of the world’s
biggest alleged white-collar crimes, has been connected to a Hollywood
studio, high-end U.S. real estate—and now, a visit to the White House.
Federal investigators are looking into whether money improperly obtained
from the Malaysian fund was paid to a businessman who later arranged an
Oval Office visit for relatives of the Malaysian prime minister,
according to people familiar with the probe.
The businessman is Frank White Jr., an entrepreneur who helped start an
investment firm called DuSable Capital Management LLC, along with
partners including a rap star. Mr. White has also raised funds for
President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Investigators believe about $10 million allegedly embezzled from
1Malaysia Development Bhd., known as 1MDB, flowed indirectly to Mr.
White in a business deal, said people familiar with the probe.
Additionally, 1MDB paid $69 million to buy a DuSable unit out of a deal
they had agreed on to build solar-power plants, the firms said last
year.
The investigation of the payments is part of the wider inquiry into 1MDB, a fund that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak
set up in 2009 to spur development. Investigators in several countries
believe up to $6 billion was improperly diverted from the fund.
Malaysia’s attorney general cleared Mr. Najib of wrongdoing, and 1MDB
has denied wrongdoing. Both have pledged to cooperate with
investigators.
Mr. White and DuSable have provided information to investigators, said a
person familiar with their position. The investigation hasn’t resulted
in any allegations of wrongdoing against Mr. White or DuSable.
A spokesman for Mr. White and DuSable said the dealings with 1MDB were
“intended to provide renewable energy in Malaysia, create jobs in the
United States and earn support for Malaysia in the United States.” At
the time, they were aware of no allegations 1MDB was the “victim of
theft,” said the spokesman, Erik Smith.
U.S.-Malaysian ties have warmed in recent years, with Mr. Obama in 2014
making the first visit to Malaysia by a U.S. president in over 50 years.
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The U.S. Justice Department has filed a civil complaint seeking to seize
more than $1 billion in assets tied to the Malaysian state investment
fund 1MDB, which was set up by Prime Minister Najib Razak. Photo:
Reuters (Originally published July 2, 2016)
This July, the U.S. Justice Department moved to seize $1 billion of real
estate, art and other assets investigators believe were purchased with
proceeds from the alleged 1MDB fraud. Civil forfeiture suits filed by
the Justice Department are pending.
Mr. White’s Malaysian connections were on display in December 2013 when
he escorted to the Oval Office a delegation that included the son and
stepson of Malaysia’s prime minister, according to visitor records.
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese accompanied them to
present to the president a copy of “The Wolf of Wall Street,” a film
the stepson, Riza Aziz, co-produced.
The Justice Department said in its July lawsuits the film was partly
funded by money stolen from 1MDB, an allegation The Wall Street Journal
had reported in April. Mr. Aziz has denied wrongdoing and his production
company said it believed the money came from a legitimate partner. Mr.
White’s spokesman said he had no dealings with Mr. Aziz.
There is no indication Mr. Obama or the White House were aware of any
1MDB links with Mr. White, or of any issue with the movie’s financing.
Deputy White House press secretary Eric Schultz called Mr. White “a
prominent supporter of the president” but stressed that U.S.-Malaysia
policy has been driven by what is best for the U.S. and not by outside
influences.
Mr. Schultz said Mr. Obama has privately discussed with Mr. Najib “the
importance of transparency, accountability, and rooting out corruption”
and has raised this issue publicly as well. He wouldn’t comment on
Justice Department proceedings.
Mr. DiCaprio declined to comment. Mr. Scorsese didn’t respond to comment requests.
Mr. White in 2007 sold an information-technology company he founded
called Advanced Concepts Inc. He raised millions of dollars for Mr.
Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns.
Mr. White is listed on Mrs. Clinton’s website as a “Hillblazer” who
contributed or raised at least $100,000. He has donated between $1
million and $5 million to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton
Foundation, its website says.
A campaign official said Mr. White has hosted events for Mrs. Clinton, but that is the extent of their relationship.
Malaysia’s government has long sought to deepen ties with the U.S., to
attract investment and burnish its standing as a moderate Muslim nation.
Jho Low, a Malaysian businessman who U.S. investigators believe played a
central role in the alleged 1MDB fraud, helped come up with the
solar-power project on which Mr. White’s firm cooperated, said people
familiar with the matter. They said Mr. Low told others his efforts in
arranging it helped Mr. Najib get closer to Mr. Obama, who golfed with
the prime minister in Hawaii at Christmastime in 2014.
Mr. Najib’s office declined to comment on the power project. Mr. Low didn’t respond to comment requests.
Mr. White, whose sister is married to a cousin of First Lady Michelle
Obama, knew Mr. Low through friends involved with New York nightclub
circles, people familiar with the matter say.
In 2012, Mr. White was paid about $10 million by a company called MB
Consulting LLC, owned by an Abu Dhabi business partner of Mr. Low, said
people familiar with the payment. It was part of a consulting agreement,
said one of the people. The Abu Dhabi partner declined to comment.
Part of the money allegedly embezzled from 1MDB was sent to MB
Consulting, U.S. prosecutors stated in their July lawsuits, without
saying where it went next.
Hip Hop artist Pras Michel,
seen at a Washington event in May, is a co-founder of DuStable Capital
Management, a firm that had dealings with the troubled Malaysian state
fund 1MDB.
In May 2013, Mr. White formed DuSable Capital with Shomik Dutta, a
former White House special assistant and 2012 Obama fundraiser, and with
Pras Michel, an original member of the hip-hop group the Fugees and the
artist behind the hit “Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You are).”
Messrs. Dutta and Michel declined to comment.
Later in 2013, Mr. White registered DuSable, which calls itself an
investment firm focused on renewable energy and infrastructure, as a
lobbyist for 1MDB. The filing said DuSable would “encourage the U.S.
government to provide non-financial support” for a solar project in
Malaysia.
On Dec. 18, 2013, Mr. White escorted the Malaysian prime minister’s
family members on their Oval Office visit, where they met President
Obama.
In April 2014, a DuSable unit agreed with 1MDB to jointly develop the
solar-power project. The deal was done without a public tender,
according to 1MDB board minutes reviewed by the Journal. The minutes say
1MDB executives presented it to the 1MDB board as a
“government-to-government” deal between Malaysia and the U.S. Mr.
White’s spokesman said the U.S. government wasn’t a party to the deal.
Mr. Obama arrived in Malaysia on April 26, 2014.
Four months later, 1MDB moved to buy the DuSable unit out of the
project, which had seen no construction, to prepare 1MDB’s energy assets
for a public offering.
Mr. Najib signed a resolution to pay DuSable $95 million for its interest in the solar project. The price was renegotiated and 1MDB paid $69 million, said a 1MDB/DuSable joint statement last year.
Write to Bradley Hope at bradley.hope@wsj.com and
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