Panas: Najib Di Siasat Atas Dakwaan "Money Laundering"...
Laporan Portal Business investvine.com
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launched an investigation into allegations of money-laundering at troubled Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), according to a Wall Street Journalreport published on September 20.
The news came two days after Khairuddin Abu Hassan, a former Malaysian ruling party official who has traveled the globe to highlight corruption allegations against Najib, was barred by police from boarding a plane in Kuala Lumpur bound for New York where he was to meet with FBI officials, Khairuddin’s lawyer Matthias Chang said. The appointment had reportedly been made with the help of the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
The scope of the FBI investigation is not clear yet, the report said. It is, however, the next in a row of other international investigations underway as the scandal surrounding 1MDB widens.
Swiss authorities said this month they had frozen funds in Swiss banks amid investigations into 1MDB. Hong Kong authorities also said they were investigating a complaint related to the firm.
In July, evidence from 1MDB investigations showed that nearly $700 million were transferred into the personal bank account of Najib, supposedly by a Middle Eastern “donor”. The money apparently flowed through Swiss banks. Later it also turned out that $2.4 billion of payments by 1MDB to its investment partner International Petroleum Investment Co, in Abu Dhabi apparently went “missing.”
Najib denied any wrongdoing and said the allegations are a “smear campaign” against him and his ruling party.
Indeed, a lot of the whistleblowing is attributed to Malaysia’s former prime minister and still influential figure Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has been at the forefront of a year-long campaign to force Najib out of office.
According to local bloggers, Khairuddin’s arrest on his way to the FBI in New York came shortly before he was to have left by “a private jet belonging to a VVIP” which was standing by fully-fueled at Subang airport.
However, while Khairuddin’s lawyer Matthis Chiang is a long-time associate of Mahatir, it is not known that Mahatir actually owns a private jet. He has apparently used chartered or borrowed private jets from businessmen before, though.
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