Najib denies claims that 1MDB funds flowed to his account

KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Najib Razak’s office has denied reports alleging that nearly US$700 million (S$944 million) was funnelled from state-owned investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) into the Premier’s personal bank account, calling the allegations an act of political sabotage.

“There have been concerted efforts by certain individuals to undermine confidence in our economy, tarnish the government and remove a democratically elected Prime Minister,” wrote the Prime Minister’s Office on social media yesterday, in a seeming reference to the recent barrage of criticism launched by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed against his successor. Dr Mahathir has called for Mr Najib to step down over 1MDB’s loses, among other issues.

“These latest claims, attributed to unnamed investigators as a basis to attack the Prime Minister, are a continuation of this political sabotage,” the statement read.

The allegations were said to be from a preliminary Auditor-General’s report on 1MDB that would be presented to the bipartisan parliamentary Public Accounts Committee later this month. The investment firm, which is said to have amassed RM42 billion (S$15 billion) in debt, has been under investigation over its dealings.

The documents, purportedly showing how cash had been moved among government agencies, banks and companies before ending up in Mr Najib’s personal bank account, was leaked to The Wall Street Journal and the Sarawak Report yesterday.

Citing the leaked documents, the paper reported that there had been five separate deposits into Mr Najib’s account. Two of the largest transactions, worth US$620 million and US$61 million each, were made in March 2013, two months before the last Malaysian general elections.

However, The Journal noted that the original source of the funds was unclear and that the probe did not show what had happened to the money after it had been deposited into Mr Najib’s account.

If the allegations are proven true, this would be the first time a direct connection has been made between Mr Najib and accusations of graft surrounding the 1MDB fund.

In the article, both 1MDB and a government spokesperson strenuously denied the claims.

A 1MDB spokesman stressed yesterday that the company had never provided any funds to the Prime Minister. “To suggest otherwise is highly irresponsible and a deliberate attempt to undermine the company,” 1MDB said in a press statement. The company added that it was surprised that unverified documents were being used as a basis to create new unsubstantiated claims.

Responding to media reports, Dr Mahathir yesterday wondered whether the Inland Revenue Board had investigated how much taxes Mr Najib and top 1MDB executives had paid. The former Prime Minister said Mr Najib’s “lavish lifestyle must cost a packet”.

“It must be more than what I saved after 29 years in government ... It is a secret, of course. But I just want to ask, have the income-tax people investigated the source of the money and the tax paid?” he wrote in his latest blog post.

The allegations have also led to calls from all three opposition parties for Mr Najib to respond to the claims or be suspended, pending the results of investigations into the troubled firm.

“The Prime Minister has no other option and must wait no longer. He must immediately issue an immediate, specific and credible response to these very serious allegations,” said opposition leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat yesterday.

“The Prime Minister must also declare his assets publicly in a sworn statement,” she added, calling for an independent inquiry to be set up to investigate the claims.

Joining Dr Wan Azizah’s call for Mr Najib to publicly declare his assets was Parti Islam Se-Malaysia’s deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, who advocated for Mr Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor to join her husband in declaring her assets. “Such a move will be much more effective to deal with the accusations made this time,” he said.

Democratic Action Party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng also urged Mr Najib to not only rebut the claims made by The Journal, but also file for a defamation suit against the paper if the allegations were untrue. “If he doesn’t explain or try to clear his name, for the first time in eight years, I’d have to call for him to resign,” said Mr Lim. AGENCIES