Ex-premier files petition to freeze Malaysia PM's assets

By P Prem Kumar

KUALA LUMPUR

An application to freeze the assets of Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak was filed in Kuala Lumpur High Court on Tuesday by his predecessor Mahathir Mohamad.

Mohamad's lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla said in a statement that the injunction was also seeking a court order for Razak to disclose all assets held under his name and under the names of his nominees.

It asked for Razak to declare and furnish details of all assets within 10 days of a potential court order, and disclosure to be made in a sworn statement.

The statement must encompass assets held by Razak's nominees worldwide, said Abdulla.

Mohamad, Razak's mentor turned fiercest critic, has been leading a campaign calling for his resignation over alleged financial scandals.

In July 2015, international probes into the debt-ridden investment vehicle 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) claimed billions of Ringgit (millions of dollars) were channeled from 1MDB to personal bank accounts belonging to the premier.

The Wall Street Journal and whistle blower site Sarawak Report released reports quoting documents, which they claimed to be from an ongoing 1MDB probe, claiming $700 million (or 2.67 billion Ringgit) moved among 1MDB-linked government agencies, banks and entities before finally ending up in Razak’s personal accounts in five separate deposits.

Razak said that he had not swindled funds for personal gain -- as alleged by political opponents -- be they from 1MDB, the finance ministry's SRC International -- a former 1MDB subsidiary -- or other entities.

A month later, the Attorney-General's Chambers ruled that the funds were political donations to the Razak-led United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) for the party to remain in power during the last general election.

Politicians within UMNO proudly declared that the funds came from "Middle East Royals" who wanted UMNO to retain control.

Razak, however, kept silent on the matter, saying political donations were confidential and he would only reveal the donors names if opposition parties agreed to follow suit.

On Jan. 26, Malaysia’s Attorney General Apandi Ali, ruled out any wrongdoing by Razak in connection with the “political donation".