Probe into ‘political donation’ to Malaysia PM finished

By P Prem Kumar

KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysia's anti-graft agency has concluded a “satisfying” probe into the alleged $700 million “political donation” found in the premier’s private bank accounts, submitting its report to the Attorney-General for further action.

The Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) released a statement Thursday saying investigators had recorded the testimony of more than 100 witnesses, including the alleged "donor" of the funds that have embroiled Prime Minister Najib Razak in a scandal.

"The investigation involving witnesses in the country are complete. A statement from the party alleged to be the donor was also taken down," said MACC Deputy Director Mohd Shukri Abdull.

The agency had also completed its probe into SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of debt ridden state firm 1Malaysia Development Corporation Berhad (1MDB) that whistleblowers claimed was involved in suspicious business dealing involving billions of Ringgit.

The company was later placed under the direct purview of the Finance Ministry, which was headed by Razak himself.

The MACC said the investigation papers on SRC International were presented to an independent panel Wednesday before submission to the Attorney-General.

"The five panel members were representatives of independent bodies monitoring MACC progress,” Abdull said. “They are experts in the fields of law, banking, corporate business and investigations.”

Razak has been at the center of a political scandal since early July, when international probes claimed that billions of Ringgit from debt-ridden 1MDB were channeled to his personal accounts.

The Wall Street Journal and whistle blower site Sarawak Report released reports quoting documents from the ongoing 1MDB probe claiming $700 million (2.67 billion Ringgit) moved among government agencies, banks and entities linked to 1MDB before finally ending up in his accounts in separate deposits.

Razak had immediately responded by insisting he had not swindled funds for personal gain as alleged by political opponents, be it from 1MDB, SRC International or other entities.

A month after, the Attorney-General Chambers revealed that the funds were political donations by those wishing to see the Razak-led UMNO ruling party remain in power during the last general election in May 2013.

Politicians within UMNO later clarified that the funds came from "Middle East Royals" supportive of UMNO.

Razak, however, remained silent on the matter, underlining the confidentiality of political donations and saying he would only reveal the donors if opposition parties agree to follow suit.

Meanwhile, Razak's announced in his New Year message Thursday that 1MDB had overcome its major challenge this year by successfully completing its business rationalization plan to pare down its 42 billion Ringgit debt.

He said the firm reduced its debts by 40.4 billion Ringgit by entering into two agreements in the last two months to monetize its stake in two major national projects.

The premier requested that all Malaysians now await the conclusion of all investigations into 1MDB -- including those by Malaysia’s central bank, the Auditor-General Department and parliament's Public Accounts Committee -- before speculating.

1MDB had earlier introduced a three-step rationalization plan, under which the first move was a debt-for-assets swap with the International Petroleum Investment Company -- or IPIC -- that reduced its debt by 16 billion Ringgit.

Then came the sale of all its energy assets to a Chinese firm, which is set to cut its debts by up to 17 billion Ringgit once the transaction is completed by February next year.

The third and final rationalization measure was completed Thursday, with the state firm inking an agreement with a consortium to monetize its 60 percent stake in an integrated township development project known as Bandar Malaysia.

The consortium, comprised of two local firms and a renowned construction giant from China, valued the land bank at 12.35 billion Ringgit.