Malaysia’s Najib, 1MDB Push Back against Claims

Nikkei

03 July 2015

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak and troubled state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad have denied claims published in the Wall Street Journal that $700 million was funneled by 1MDB into Najib’s personal bank accounts. However, key opposition parties urged Najib to take a leave of absence while the allegations are investigated.

The latest reports, also carried by the Sarawak Report, an anti-corruption campaign site run by the sister of former U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, are based on what they claimed were leaked documents from ongoing investigations into 1MDB, which has incurred nearly $12 billion in debt. Najib chairs the fund’s advisory board.

Following speculation about the fund’s financial health, Malaysia’s auditor-general, central bank, police and the public accounts committee (PAC), launched a probe into alleged mismanagement of public money. The auditor-general is scheduled to present an interim report on its investigation during a briefing with the public accounts committee on July 9. Najib has previously denied any wrongdoing in connection with 1MDB and has accused opponents of spreading misinformation.

… “In handling the 1MDB saga, the Najib administration progressed from initial stonewalling through elegant silence to sporadic explanation,” said Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

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