Many officials briefed the press on the matter, including of course, U.S Attorney General, Loretta E.Lynch. The whole transcript is quite long. I have cut and pasted the part that I find very relevant to me as I was very much a Malaysian tax-payer until I retired in 2013.
Andrew Mccabe is the United States Attorney for the Central District of Keefe.
MR. MCCABE: GOOD MORNING. SO I'LL WALK YOU THROUGH THE DETAILS OF ONE OF THE ADDITIONAL SCHEMES THAT HAVE BEEN OUTLINED IN TODAY'S COMPLAINT. AS ALLEGED IN THE COMPLAINT NOT LONG AFTER 1MDB WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2009 CORRUPT OFFICIALS AT 1MDB AND THEIR ASSOCIATES BEGAN A SOPHISTICATED SCHEME TO ENRICH THEMSELVES. IN THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THEIR EXISTENCE, ALMOST $1 BILLION WAS TRANSFERRED OUT OF 1MDB TO BANK ACCOUNTS IN SHELL CORPORATIONS AND THEY WERE CONTROLLED BY ASSOCIATES OF CORRUPT 1MDB OFFICIALS. THE FUND WERE STOLEN UNDER THE PRETENSE OF HAVING 1MDB INVEST IN AN OIL EXPLORATION JOINT VENTURE WITH A FOREIGN PARTNER. ON PAPER, THE $1 BILLION WAS TO BE 1MDB'S INVESTMENT IN WHAT PURPORTED TO BE NATIONAL RESOURCE RIGHTS. BUT THIS WASN'T A LEGITIMATE INVESTMENT FOR 1MDB OR THE MALAYSIAN PEOPLE. INSTEAD, THE FUNDS TRANSFERRED TO THE SHELL COMPANIES WERE USED TO THE PERSONAL ENRICHMENT OF THE CORRUPT OFFICIALS AND THEIR ASSOCIATES. THEY USED THE MONEY TO PAY GAMBLING DEBTS AT LAS VEGAS CASINOS, THEY RENTED LUXURY YACHTS, THEY HIRED AN INTERIOR DECORATOR IN LONDON AND SPENT MILLIONS ON PROPERTY, SOME OF WHICH IS SUBJECT TO SEIZURE AND FORFEIT YOU ARE. AMONG THE PURCHASES WAS A JET FOR THE PURCHASE PRICE OF $35 MILLION.
SO WHY DOES THIS MATTER SO MUCH TO US? CERTAINLY THERE'S A LOT GOING ON IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, TERRORIST ATTACKS, VIOLENT CRIME AND SERIOUS THREATS TO AMERICAN CITIZENS AND PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD. WHY DOES THE CORRUPTION CASE HALFWAY RAN THE WORLD MATTERS SO MUCH TO US HERE TODAY? WELL, I'LL TELL YOU FOR A FEW REASONS. FIRST, BECAUSE SOME OF THE PROFITS OF THESE SCHEMES WERE INVESTED IN THE UNITED STATES. AND WHEN CORRUPT OFFICIALS BRING THEIR ILL-GOTTEN GAINS TO THE UNITED STATES, THEY ALSO BRING WITH THEM THEIR CORRUPT PRACTICES AND DISREGARD FOR THE RULE OF LAW AND THAT PRESENTS A THREAT TO OUR ECONOMY AND IMPACTS TRADE AND INVESTMENT AND FUELS THE GROWTH OF CRIMINAL ENTERPRISES AND UNDERMINES OUR FAIR DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES. SECOND, BECAUSE THE STABLE, HEALTHY DEMOCRACIES AROUND THE WORLD ARE THE CORNERSTONE OF GLOBAL SECURITY. THE MORE WE CAN DO TO HELP OUR INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN STABLE GOVERNMENTS, ACCOUNTABLE TO THE RULE OF LAW, THE MORE WE DO TO ENSURE U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY. AND FINALLY, WE DO IT BECAUSE THE F.B.I. AND THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND OUR COLLEAGUES AND FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ARE UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO PROVIDE THE SORT OF ASSISTANCE. THE MALAYSIAN PEOPLE WERE DEFRAUDED ON AN ENORMOUS SCALE. ITS SCHEMES WHOSE TENTACLES REACHED AROUND THE WORLD. THIS CASE IS BEYOND THE SINGLE -- ANY SINGLE AGENCY'S ABILITY TO EFFECTIVELY INVESTIGATE. WE HAVE INVESTIGATORS AND PROSECUTORS WITH DEEP EXPERIENCE WORKING MATTERS LIKE THIS SO OUR INVOLVEMENT IS A NATURAL FIT. LAST YEAR WE ESTABLISHED THREE DEDICATED INTERNATIONAL CORRUPTION SQUADS BASED IN NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, AND HERE IN WASHINGTON. THESE SQUADS INCLUDE AGENTS, ANALYSTS AND ACCOUNTANTS WHO ARE EXPERTS IN COMPLEX FINANCIAL SCHEMES. THESE SPECIALIZED TEAMS ARE SHOWING REAL RESULTS. THIS IS THE LARGEST KLEPTOCRACY SEIZURE IN U.S. HISTORY. WE HOPE THIS INVESTIGATION WILL SEND A MESSAGE TO CORRUPT OFFICIALS AROUND THE WORLD THAT NO PERSON, NO COMPANY, NO ORGANIZATION IS TOO BIG, TOO POWERFUL, OR TOO PROMINENT. NO ONE IS ABOVE OR BEYOND THE LAW.
SO AT THIS POINT, I'D LIKE TO THANK A FEW OF OUR PARTNERS. FIRST, I'D LIKE TO THANK OUR F.B.I. LEGAL OFFICES, THESE TEAMS ARE STATIONED OVERSEAS TO COORDINATE GLOBAL INVESTIGATIONS LIKE THIS. AND PART OF THEIR JOB IS TO BUILD STRONG PARTNERSHIPS SO WE CAN WORK CLOSELY, QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY WITH OUR INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS ON CRIMINAL AND TERRORIST THREATS. I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK OUR PARTNERS WITH THE I.R.S., THE LOS ANGELES U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, THE CRIMINAL DIVISION HERE AT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, AND OF COURSE OUR AGENTS AND ANALYSTS IN THE F.B.I.'S NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES FIELD OFFICES. THIS CASE IS ONGOING. CORRUPTION, UNFORTUNATELY, WILL NEVER BE ERADICATED BECAUSE, QUITE FRANKLY, GREED NEVER GOES AWAY. BUT WE ARE COMMITTED TO WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS HERE AT HOME AND AROUND THE WORLD TO DO WHAT WE CAN TO STOP IT, TO ENSURE THE LEGITIMACY OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND TO CREATE A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD FOR ALL. NOW I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE CHIEF RICHARD WEBBER OF THE I.R.S. CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DIVISION.
K A R I: Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Iniative
My comments:
1) Malaysia is a kleptocracy
kleptocracy: a government or state in which
those in power exploit national resources and
steal; rule by a thief or thieves.
What do we call the thief or thieves?
Probably a kleptocrat or kleptocrats. We are a nation heading towards becoming a banana republic and headed by a kleptocrat.
2) Some people have skins as thick as those of polar animals.
This is from The Star today
Probably a kleptocrat or kleptocrats. We are a nation heading towards becoming a banana republic and headed by a kleptocrat.
2) Some people have skins as thick as those of polar animals.
This is from The Star today
Suits Targeting Those Who Allegedly Siphoned Off 1MDB Funds
Home > News > Nation
Friday, 22 July 2016
PETALING JAYA: The civil suits by the US Department of Justice are seeking to seize US$1bil (RM4.02bil) worth of assets allegedly obtained using funds siphoned from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
The lawsuits filed on Wednesday are seeking to recover assets belonging to several high-profile individuals closely linked to the state investment arm that was set up in 2009.
In the 136-page document, US prosecutors led by Attorney-General Loretta Lynch alleged that the individuals had conspired to launder US$3.5bil (RM14.07bil) from 1MDB to fund their lifestyles.
The individuals, some of whom were named while the identities of several others were withheld, had reportedly used a host of offshore bank accounts and shell companies to conceal their activities over a four-year period beginning 2009.
The lawsuits were submitted by the Justice Department’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, which deals specifically with the seizure of proceeds obtained from foreign corruption.
Among the allegations in the lawsuits is that US$681mil (RM2.74bil) was transferred to a personal bank account of “Malaysian Official 1”.
The official complaint also revealed that from October 2009 to June 2010, more than US$85mil (RM342mil) was spent by the individuals concerned on gambling in Las Vegas, jet rentals, yachts and other payments.
It said that the US$150mil (RM603mil) used for luxury properties in New York and California came from 1MDB’s collapsed joint venture deal with PetroSaudi International, as did US$44.8mil (RM180mil) to buy a hotel in Beverly Hills and US$35.4mil (RM142mil) for a jet.
It was alleged that money from the Goldman Sachs bond deals was used to purchase US$130mil (RM522.6mil) worth of artwork at auction, as well as an interest in the music rights of EMI.
“The funds diverted from 1MDB were used for the personal benefit of the co-conspirators and their relatives and associates, including to purchase luxury real estate in the United States, pay gambling expenses at Las Vegas casinos, acquire more than US$200mil (RM804mil) to invest in a major New York real estate project and fund the production of major Hollywood films.
“1MDB maintained no interest in these assets and saw no returns on these investments,” the suits read.
A key individual named in the official complaint by U.S. prosecutors was Riza Aziz, who is the stepson of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Riza is the founder of Red Granite Pictures, which produced the Oscar-nominated The Wolf of Wall Street in 2013.
Others named in the suits included prominent Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as “Jho Low”, and Abu Dhabi government officials Khadem Abdulla Al-Qubaisi and Mohammed Ahmed Badawy Al-Husseiny as “relevant individuals” in the case.
Al-Qubaisi and Al-Husseiny were former officials at a sovereign wealth fund in the United Arab Emirates that was involved in deals with 1MDB in that period.
Home > News > Nation
Friday, 22 July 2016
PETALING JAYA: The civil suits by the US Department of Justice are seeking to seize US$1bil (RM4.02bil) worth of assets allegedly obtained using funds siphoned from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
The lawsuits filed on Wednesday are seeking to recover assets belonging to several high-profile individuals closely linked to the state investment arm that was set up in 2009.
In the 136-page document, US prosecutors led by Attorney-General Loretta Lynch alleged that the individuals had conspired to launder US$3.5bil (RM14.07bil) from 1MDB to fund their lifestyles.
The individuals, some of whom were named while the identities of several others were withheld, had reportedly used a host of offshore bank accounts and shell companies to conceal their activities over a four-year period beginning 2009.
The lawsuits were submitted by the Justice Department’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, which deals specifically with the seizure of proceeds obtained from foreign corruption.
Among the allegations in the lawsuits is that US$681mil (RM2.74bil) was transferred to a personal bank account of “Malaysian Official 1”.
The official complaint also revealed that from October 2009 to June 2010, more than US$85mil (RM342mil) was spent by the individuals concerned on gambling in Las Vegas, jet rentals, yachts and other payments.
It said that the US$150mil (RM603mil) used for luxury properties in New York and California came from 1MDB’s collapsed joint venture deal with PetroSaudi International, as did US$44.8mil (RM180mil) to buy a hotel in Beverly Hills and US$35.4mil (RM142mil) for a jet.
It was alleged that money from the Goldman Sachs bond deals was used to purchase US$130mil (RM522.6mil) worth of artwork at auction, as well as an interest in the music rights of EMI.
“The funds diverted from 1MDB were used for the personal benefit of the co-conspirators and their relatives and associates, including to purchase luxury real estate in the United States, pay gambling expenses at Las Vegas casinos, acquire more than US$200mil (RM804mil) to invest in a major New York real estate project and fund the production of major Hollywood films.
“1MDB maintained no interest in these assets and saw no returns on these investments,” the suits read.
A key individual named in the official complaint by U.S. prosecutors was Riza Aziz, who is the stepson of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Riza is the founder of Red Granite Pictures, which produced the Oscar-nominated The Wolf of Wall Street in 2013.
Others named in the suits included prominent Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as “Jho Low”, and Abu Dhabi government officials Khadem Abdulla Al-Qubaisi and Mohammed Ahmed Badawy Al-Husseiny as “relevant individuals” in the case.
Al-Qubaisi and Al-Husseiny were former officials at a sovereign wealth fund in the United Arab Emirates that was involved in deals with 1MDB in that period.
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