Malaysia’s Govt Will Use All Related Agencies, Political Will To Probe 1MDB Case – Deputy Minister

KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian government has given assurances that it will thoroughly investigate embezzelment cases related to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal through all relevant agencies. Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) Mas Ermieyati Samsudin provided the assurance, saying that political will was needed to investigate the case. “As Port Dickson MP (Anwar Ibrahim) said earlier, there must be political will, not only on the part of the opposition but also on the part of the government. The Prime Minister (Ismail Sabri) also said, we cannot hesitate, if they are guilty, we will make sure they are brought to justice,” she said. She said this when winding up Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's motion on exposing corrupt practices, abuse of power and misappropriation in Malaysian institutions, especially Bank Negara (BNM) related to the 1MDB scandal at the Special Chamber session at the Parliament sitting here, Tuesday. Mas Ermieyati berkata dengan pendedahan siasatan dan perbicaraan oleh Department Of Justice Amerika Syarikat (DOJ), ia dapat membantu kerajaan dalam usaha memberikan lagi jawapan atau penemuan lain berkaitan siasatan 1MDB. With the disclosures and the ongoing trial by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), it could help the government in its efforts to provide more answers or other findings related to the 1MDB investigation, she added. In fact, she said, as soon as former Goldman Sachs partner Tim Leissner made certain relevations during the New York trial recently, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) took immediate action and reached out to the ex-chief executive officer named by Leissner on Feb 24 to get a statement on allegations that they received gratification from funds that may be related to 1MDB. "We are still investigating, and we will call a few more individuals for us to investigate in depth, as we know this 1MDB case has haunted Malaysians and the entire country because it involves a world power, that's why we state here that we must be serious in ensuring that justice will be served," she said. On the constraints of obtaining information abroad, Mas Ermieyati said it was the policy of the US DOJ not to share information on the 1MDB investigation with Malaysia. Therefore, she said the government was committed to using all mechanisms through diplomatic and government-to-government (G2G) channels to obtain additional evidence to assist in the investigation of the strategic investment company. Meanwhile, she said the investigation into Pekan MP and former prime minister, Najib Tun Razak, who is accused of involvement in the scandal, had never ceased. She added that in November last year, the MACC had issued a statement regarding the return of US$15.4 million linked to the 1MDB case involving the Cutting Edge Industries Ltd account belonging to the husband of former Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Dr Tawfiq Ayman and Samuel Goh on 14 Sept 2021. She said the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) had conducted an investigation under Section 4 (1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Prevention of Financing of Terrorism and Proceeds from Illegal Activities Act 2001 against Tawfiq and an investigation paper was referred to the Attorney-General's Chambers on Oct 14, 2021 and Oct 7, 2021. “However, the investigation paper was returned to police on Dec 21, 2021 for further investigation in Singapore. As the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) between Malaysia and Singapore has been closed until now, the next action will be taken after the reopening of both countries," Mas Ermieyati added. She also said that the MACC is focusing on asset recovery efforts in countries such as Switzerland, Kuwait, Mauritius, Cyprus, Hong Kong involving individuals linked to the 1MDB case. Earlier, Anwar, when debating the 1MDB motion, urged that a thorough investigation involving financial institutions and all investigation agencies be carried out immediately following Leissner’s latest relevations. The Opposition Leader also demanded an explanation from BNM, the Inland Revenue Board (IRB), MACC and the police regarding the disclosure. “We ask that a thorough investigation be conducted on this issue. We also want explanations, action, information obtained as well as actions currently taken related to the 1MDB case by all the agencies mentioned previously," he said when debating the motion. -- BERNAMA