After WSJ report, 1MDB insists it never provided funds to Najib

KUALA LUMPUR — 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) denied today (July 3) suggestions that it has given money to Prime Minister Najib Razak, labelling the allegation irresponsible and yet another attempt to discredit the company.

The debt-laden firm, responding to a report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) today that said about US$700 million (S$944.5 million) from 1MDB has been deposited into the prime minister’s personal accounts, also said it was surprised that unverified documents are still being used as a basis to create new unsubstantiated allegations.

“In reference to media reports published earlier today, 1MDB wishes to make clear that the company has never provided any funds to the Prime Minister.”

“To suggest otherwise, as some media outlets have done, is highly irresponsible and a deliberate attempt to undermine the company,” 1MDB said in a press statement.

The firm pointed out that recent revelations have thrown the veracity of previous allegations against it into question as it has been suggested that some of the documents leaked to whistleblower site Sarawak Report may have been tampered with.

It was referring to documents leaked by former PetroSaudi International (PSI) director Mr Xavier Justo to the site, which purportedly suggested impropriety in the Middle Eastern firm’s aborted joint venture with 1MDB.

Mr Justo has since been arrested in Thailand for allegedly using the documents, said to have been stolen from PSI’s databases, to extort and blackmail his former employer.

“We are therefore surprised that documents such as these, whose existence and authenticity have not been publicly verified, continue to be used as a basis to create new unsubstantiated allegations against 1MDB,” 1MDB said.

It noted that it is currently under investigation by a number or enforcement agencies including the Auditor-General’s Department, the Public Accounts Committee and Bank Negara, and have willingly offered to cooperate with the probes.

“These authorities have all the relevant information, and we request all parties to await the outcome of their findings before making further allegations and rushing to judgment,” the firm said.

In its report today, the WSJ, citing documents from Malaysian investigators currently scrutinising the troubled 1MDB’s financials, claimed that the money trail shows that some US$700 million were moved between government agencies, banks and companies before it ended up in Mr Najib’s accounts.

These documents, the international business paper claimed, include bank transfer forms and flowcharts put together by investigators to shed light on 1MDB’s cash flow. The paper said this is the first time a direct connection to Mr Najib has been established in the probe on 1MDB.

WSJ, which claimed to have viewed the documents, said investigators have discovered that there were five separate deposits from two sources made so far into Mr Najib’s accounts.

The paper added, however, that the original source of the funds is unclear and that the investigation does not show what happened to the money after it was deposited into Mr Najib’s accounts.

The largest two transactions, it said, were for US$621 million and US$61 million allegedly made in March 2013, shortly before the tumultuous Election 2013 in May.

A Malaysian government spokesman, however, told the paper that Mr Najib has never taken 1MDB funds for personal use.

1MDB is currently under probe for alleged impropriety by a number of agencies, including the Auditor-General’s Department, the police and Bank Negara Malaysia.

An interim report on the A-G’s probe will be submitted next Thursday to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC). MALAY MAIL ONLINE