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Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Banking info on money flow to Najib’s accounts damning, say lawyers

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is facing intense pressure following revelations that billions of ringgit were allegedly transferred into his bank accounts. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, July 8, 2015.Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is facing intense pressure following revelations that billions of ringgit were allegedly transferred into his bank accounts. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, July 8, 2015.
The disclosure of documents allegedly showing vast sums of money transferred to the personal accounts of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak are "damning" on the face of it, even though investigations are still ongoing, lawyers familiar with banking documents said.
Lawyer and co-president of Centre for a Better Tomorrow (Cenbet) Lim Chee Wee said the documents disclosed yesterday by The Wall Street Journal, which he described as a reputable international media agency, lent weight to the truth of the allegations.
Lim said while the relevant law enforcement agencies investigated the matter, the deputy prime minister should take over as acting prime minister, pending outcome of the probe.
"Perception is as important as reality for one who occupies high office," he told The Malaysian Insider.
If it was proven that Najib did not have these bank accounts and did not receive the money, he could then return to work.
"And WSJ must face all manner of legal action and prosecution," Lim added.
"If there is truth to the documents, there must be prosecution," said the former president of the Malaysian Bar.
WSJ which reported last Friday that US$700 million (RM2.67 billion) had ended up in Najib's private bank accounts, yesterday posted documents on the Internet to support its report.
The documents included instructions for telegraphic transfers, a remittance application form, a cash deposit authorisation letter and charts outlining the flow of money.
Some numbers, a name and identity card number, however, were blacked out in the documents.
Former senior manager of the Securities Commission Datuk Geethan Ram Vincent said the documents revealed merely showed money being moved into Najib's account.
This did not mean an offence had been committed unless there was an explanation as to the source of the funds.
"Judging from the large amount of the funds, an investigation is pertinent to determine if the funds were from legitimate business activities or from illegal activities such as corruption.”
He added that Bank Negara was in the position to confirm if the money had moved to Najib's accounts, but had yet to do so.
"I can only assume that they are not making any statements as it has been subjected to an investigation. 
"But it is embarrassing that a foreign party has provided information and BNM is still silent.
"The silence is deafening," said Geethan, who is now in private practice and specialising in commercial crime cases.
Lim said it could be that the central bank was silent because the case was under investigation.
"Bank Negara may be silent because it is still investigating which is normal standard operating procedure," Lim said.
Immediate past president of the Malaysian Bar Christopher Leong also asked whether the central bank had been notified of the foreign inward remittances of US$620 million and US$61 million that were transferred in March 2013, ahead of the general election in May that year.
"If so, what did Bank Negara do, bearing in mind that the electronic MT103 document does not specify the purposes for such large inward remittances.”
He also said that the large local remittances of RM27million, RM5 million and RM10 million would have activated the anti-money laundering notification provisions and procedures. He also asked if these were adhered to by the parties and banks involved.
A criminal offence could have been committed if the monies were shown to be derived from public funds, adding that this could not be assumed based on what the documents showed so far.
Leong said there were four areas to look into: identifying and confirming the source of the funds; the purpose of the funds; the ultimate beneficiaries; and whether legal and regulatory provisions or procedures were ignored.
He added that going by the fragments of the picture so far, it did not look good for the prime minister, especially since he had not explicitly denied the accounts were in his name.
"But the entire picture should be put together before judgment is made.
"At this point, there are serious and troubling issues, questions and concerns which require thorough and independent investigations.
"I believe it is premature at this juncture to make definitive conclusions."
- TMI

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