KUALA LUMPUR - Prime Minister Najib Razak's own brother Nazir Razak skewered the top executives of ailing sovereign fund 1MDB for failing to attend a Parliament enquiry on its alleged losses.
"Your company has triggered a national crisis and you can be too busy to face parliament? Unacceptable," Nazir, the head of CIMB banking group, said on Instagram.
Nazir's stinging rebuke follows hot on the heels of widespread criticism against 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda and former board member Shahrol Ibrahim Halmi.
"Are these guys at the MoF and 1MBD playing punk with the PAC and us? Or have they left the country for good. Why do they ask for a 30-day delay? Are they trying to hide the books, erase the computers or seek fairy godmother’s help to make their troubles disappear?" an enraged Kadir Jasin wrote in his blog.
Gone away from Malaysia for good?
Kadir, who supports ex premier Mahathir Mohamad, demanded an explanation from Najib, who is also Finance Minister and chairman of 1MDB's highest policy -setting Advisory board.
"Something smells rotten! Mohd Najib is PM and MoF minister. What Bugis wayang is he playing now?," asked Kadir, a former top editor with the Umno-controlled NST media group.
A letter from the Finance Ministry dated May 22 had stated that 1MDB Board members, including Arul and Shahrol, were unavailable as they had to attend to matters abroad.
According to MoF, 1MDB requested for a delay of 30 days, to which the head of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Nur Jazlan had tamely accepted.
Arul has since denied he was trying to run away from the PAC enquiry. The senior banker only joined 1MDB this year amid controversy and as it became clear that the 'wealth' fund was in serious financial trouble.
Nonetheless, Arul has staunchly defended 1MDB's position and was directly involved in the release of statements to the public which have since been confirmed to be false in relation to 1MDB's investments in a Cayman Islands fund.
Innocent, acting on orders or complicit? Will 1MDB top guns 'sing' on Najib?
Speculation is mounting and so is pressure on Najib to step down and take responsibility for the 1MDB debacle.
The PM is now in Japan and the gossip in the corporate circles is that he is trying hard to raise funds to 'bail out' IMDB and thereby save his political career. There is concern the Malaysian PM may offer the construction and development of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail project to Japanese stakeholders in exchange for soft loans.
Meanwhile, despite Arul's assurance he will return to Malaysia to face the 1MDB music, there are doubts he will do so. Many fear that like another 1MDB figure Jho Low, Arul and Shahrol will also try their best to stay away from Malaysia and leave Najib with 'his baby'.
Some pundits believe the 1MDB executives, if pushed, may reveal they were 'acting on orders', a situation that harks to another scandal dogging Najib and will surely signal the end of his political career if confirmed.
In the Altantuya murder, Najib's ex-bodyguard Sirul Azhar, who is now seeking asylum in Australia has demanded a re-trial, claiming he had killed the Mongolian model, who is believed to be involved in the Scorpene submarines corruption scandal, while acting under orders.
Coincidence or not, a key corporate figure Lodin Wok Kamaruddin - who is closely linked to Najib - was involved in the Scorpenes acquisition, and is also on the 1MDB board. Lodin is widely expected to announce his resignation from 1MDB to take the rap for Najib,
"1MDB is Najib's brainchild. As Jho Low said before, is it possible that as PM and Finance Minister, Najib could not have known what was happening at 1MDB or that billion ringgit transactions could be passed without his knowledge," an Opposition leader Tian Chua, who is also the MP for Pandan, told Malaysia Chronicle.
"To these guys, it may have seemed like they were doing their best to shield the PM. Maybe they were even acting on his orders as the FM and PM, we don't know. But when it comes to the crunch - and we are talking jail sentences for gross negligence or corruption - these guys may not be willing to sacrifice themselves for Najib. They will 'sing' and so maybe for Najib, it's better they stay away from Malaysia."
Najib gave 'ponteng' nod to save his skin?
Another government critic Lim Kit Siang, the Opposition MP for Gelang Patah' too demanded to know if Najib gave the green light for Arul and Shahrom to 'ponteng' (Malay for play truant) from the PAC enquiry.
Najib in Japan, where he is meeting business leaders, and is rumored to be offering a mega project in exchange for 'live breathing' funds and soft loans
"Where are Arul and Sharom now overseas, and what are these important appointments they are attending, couldn't these overseas appointments be rescheduled to give priority to their appearance before the PAC?," Kit Siang said in statement issued on Tuesday.
"Did Najib as Prime Minister or Finance Minister have knowledge that the duo would play truant from the PAC hearing scheduled today, and did he, if not who, gave the ‘green-light” for the duo to play truant from the PAC hearing today?
"Did Najib or the relevant Finance Ministry authority (give identity) ask the duo to reschedule their overseas appointment as their appearance before the PAC is more important so as to put to rest all doubts and queries about the 1MDB scandal as the biggest financial scandal in the country, and if not, why?
"Did Najib, if not who, approve their 'ponteng' (on Monday)?"
- Malaysia Chronicle
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ReplyDeleteWhen the police wanted to interrogate politicians from opposition, like nurul, they went in cars/busses to her house late in the evening even though she told them she'll attend the police station the next day! Now, even though the issues involves billions, no action is taken, but instead, graciously allowed them 30 days!!! WTF is happening to Malaysia? I think the authorities think Malaysian are dumb people...do whatever they think is right, ignoring the Malaysian's rights. Don't Malaysian deserve some respect?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTo me, its very simple if the authorities apply same tactics on everyone. They'll and should go to arul and his buddy's house and pick them up for interrogation. There's no issue as to who nod or where they went nor how busy they can be. All we need is "1 set of law for Malaysian, all treated equally, irrespective of race, religion and position.
ReplyDeleteTo me, its very simple if the authorities apply same tactics on everyone. They'll and should go to arul and his buddy's house and pick them up for interrogation. There's no issue as to who nod or where they went nor how busy they can be. All we need is "1 set of law for Malaysian, all treated equally, irrespective of race, religion and position.
ReplyDeleteWhen the police wanted to interrogate politicians from opposition, like nurul, they went in cars/busses to her house late in the evening even though she told them she'll attend the police station the next day! Now, even though the issues involves billions, no action is taken, but instead, graciously allowed them 30 days!!! WTF is happening to Malaysia? I think the authorities think Malaysian are dumb people...do whatever they think is right, ignoring the Malaysian's rights. Don't Malaysian deserve some respect?
ReplyDelete"1MDB CHIEFS ABSCOND, LEAVING NAJIB WITH THE BABY? Even PM's brother says PAC absence unacceptable"
ReplyDeleteJust to share this...
"Arul was on the board of RHB Capital Bhd from July 2009 to May, 2011, as a non-independent non-executive director representing Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC. He was executive vice-president, head of investment banking and head of corporate finance at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank bought RHB Capital in May 2008, acquiring 538.37 million shares or 25% of RHB Capital from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). It later sold the block to its related entity to Aabar Investments PJS...
1MDB Arul Kanda - has wide experience in banking, having worked as head of Islamic financing solutions, Barclays Capital, Dubai, from September 2006 to July 2008,
prior to which he was at Calyon (part of the Credit Agricole group) and was based in London and Bahrain between 2002 and 2006.
Among others, at Calyon he was director, head of Islamic banking, London, from July 2005 to August 2006; director of capital markets, Bahrain, from June 2004 to June 2005; and associate director of securitisation, in London, from July 2003 to May 2004.
He has a Masters in Law from University College, London, and obtained his bachelor’s degree in law from the London School of Economics.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/3-ceos-3-auditors-2-chairmen-in-5-years-and-still-nothings-wrong-at-1mdb
“In 2001, Denis Robert and Ernest Backes book, Revelation, showed that Crédit Lyonnais was one of the many banks to hold unpublished accounts in Clearstream, a Luxembourg-based transaction clearing company, which has been accused by the authors of being a huge international money-laundering machine…”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cr%C3%A9dit_Lyonnais
Thursday, May 30, 2013 - "The truth about Barclays and the Abu Dhabi investment -
"Amanda Staveley earned an astonishing £30 million fee for her role in helping to secure Abu Dhabi’s £3.5 billion investment in Barclays in 2008, a deal on which Sheikh Mansour made a profit of more than £3 billion.
Euromoney reveals the extraordinary tale behind that trade, the battle for £110 million in fees paid by Barclays to Mansour, and just how close-run a deal which saved the bank from part-nationalization was – which is currently the subject of an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.
Lunchtime on April 30 2009, and Amanda Staveley’s private banker on the Isle of Man has just emailed her with confirmation that a sum of £29.5 million ($45.7 million) has been deposited into her account.
The note from Douglas might have provided a bitter-sweet moment for the Dubai-based Staveley, the Yorkshire-born dealmaker building a reputation gladhanding high-octane deals in the Gulf, after a hectic few months helping arrange one of the defining transactions of the 2008 global financial crisis: Abu Dhabi’s £3.5 billion investment in Barclays Bank six months earlier.
Sweet because she had finally received a commission for the Barclays deal that she’d been sweating on Gulf potentates paying for a long time. But bitter because the amount received was some way short of what she’d initially hoped to garner for her role in the Barclays rescue, a deal dubbed 'Project Mandolin'.
The disclosure of the fees paid to Staveley and her firm PCP Capital Partners – revealed in a dossier of documents relating to the transaction and seen by Euromoney – will also stir mixed emotions among Barclays shareholders.
At the time of the capital raising, many were up in arms at the highly generous terms offered not just to Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Abu Dhabi royal and UAE deputy prime minister, whose participation Staveley had helped arrange, but also to Qatar Holdings, one of neighbouring Qatar’s sovereign wealth funds...
Cont'd Part 2...
"1MDB CHIEFS ABSCOND, LEAVING NAJIB WITH THE BABY? Even PM's brother says PAC absence unacceptable"
ReplyDeletePart 2...
Euromoney’s disclosures cast the first light on what happened to the £110 million in fees paid by Barclays – and its shareholders – nominally to Sheikh Mansour, but in reality to a cast of advisers, associates and family members, of which Staveley was a big beneficiary.
The documents seen by Euromoney – a collection of business exchanges, and emails written or sent by Staveley, her colleagues and her contacts from 2008 to 2009 – also show how public disclosures about the Mansour investment masked the realities of how close run the deal was, and how complex – and arguably misleading – the nature of the capital injection from Abu Dhabi was.
They provide a fascinating insight into how the west meets the Middle East when it comes to doing business for eye-watering sums of money, as well as how frantic attempts to secure the money for the Barclays investment were, pulling in a range of some of the biggest names in the financial markets, from the US to China.
The entire round of capital raisings by Barclays in 2008 – first a £4.5 billion injection in June by existing shareholders, principal among them the Qatar Investment Authority and Challenger, an entity representing Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani, followed by the £7.3 billion injection by Mansour and the Qataris in November – have been shrouded in rumour, mystery, intrigue and speculation.
They are also the subject of investigation. Barclays has disclosed that the UK’s Financial Services Authority and Serious Fraud Office are looking into commercial agreements between Barclays and Qatari interests and if these were related to the two Barclays capital raisings in 2008.
There is also an investigation by the US Department of Justice and the US SEC into whether or not Barclays' relationships with third parties that assist Barclays to win or retain business are compliant with the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Both investigations are cited in the independent review of Barclays written by Anthony Salz, a vice-chairman of Rothschild, published at the beginning of April this year...
Before the completion of the investment, David Forbes, a senior adviser to Ipic, emailed Staveley to tell her:
“Further to our email of yesterday, Khadem has just confirmed that he does not envisage any requirement for PCP to be an equity investor in Project Mandolin.”
Khadem is Forbes’s boss, the head of Ipic. Also addressed in the email was Ali Jassim, a close associate of Sheikh Mansour.
The problem was that the three vehicles – PCP Gulf Invest 1, 2 and 3 – were originally registered in the names of Staveley and Eadie, rather than in Mansour’s.
This issue appeared to be addressed in a draft letter seen by Euromoney, seemingly on behalf of KAQ Holdings – the personal holding company of Khadem Al Qubaisi.
In it, KAQ offers Staveley and Eadie an aggregate fee of £5 million “in connection with your involvement in the investments to be made by PCP Gulf Invest... in Barclays as part of its capital raising exercise..”
Thursday, May 30, 2013 - The truth about Barclays and the Abu Dhabi investment -
http://www.euromoney.com/Article/3198637/Revealed-The-truth-about-Barclays-and-the-Abu-Dhabi-investment.html?copyrightInfo=true
They are very well trained & groomed "Rothschild's Puppet Investment Bankers" for the Middle East...& 1MDB in Bolehland...???
You be the judge.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"1MDB CHIEFS ABSCOND, LEAVING NAJIB WITH THE BABY? Even PM's brother says PAC absence unacceptable"
ReplyDeletePart 3...
"Chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Aabar fund, Khadem Al Qubaisi"
"KAQ Holdings – the personal holding company of Khadem Al Qubaisi".
Just to share this...
"The conspiracy was hatched in April 2011, according to the email trails in our possession.
The plan was to orchestrate a quick flip sale of RHB bank shares owned by the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), in the full knowledge that two of Malaysia’s own banks CIMB and Maybank were in the process of seeking a merger with RHB.
Using their insider knowledge and the controlling influences of the Malaysian authorities, Jho Low and his business partners, who were the UK based investor Robert Tchenguiz and the then "Chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Aabar fund, Khadem Al Qubaisi", expected to profit by at least half a billion US dollars.
This was to be at the expense of the Abu Dhabi public bank and the two Malaysian banks, expected to eventually buy the 25% share of RHB.
Writing to Tchenguiz 31st May 2011 Low gloated at the prospect of a 50:50 deal on a USD500 million dollar profit:
“Now that the MayBank & CIMB process is happening simultaneously, we can be sure our exit will be likely faster within 6 to 18 months…
Our lawyers are drafting up the USD100 million first lose guarantee for 24 months (with a 12 month extension) to be issued in favour of Aabar in return for a 50:50 net profit equal share so that our interests are mutually aligned in this partnership…
…. Our expectation is a minimum of USD500m net-profit for us jointly within 18 months or less...”
http://www.sarawakreport.org/2015/05/jho-low-how-pm-agreed-plans-to-make-usd500m-minimum-profit-from-insider-deal-against-cimbmaybank-exclusive/
You be the judge.