2 bank accounts closed before probe on WSJ report: Task force

KUALA LUMPUR — Two bank accounts held by Prime Minister Najib Razak in AmBank were closed long before investigations into a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report that an alleged US$700 million (S$946 million) was funnelled into his personal bank accounts began, said the special task force investigating the WSJ’s claims yesterday.

This is believed to be the first confirmation that Mr Najib held two bank accounts at AmBank Islamic, which the WSJ report on July 2 said was one of the banks where the alleged fund transfers from state investment vehicle 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) had taken place, based on documents the newspaper had sourced from government investigators looking at 1MDB’s financial dealings.

Mr Najib’s accounts at AmBank were closed on August 30, 2013, and March 9 this year, said the task force investigating the WSJ allegations.

“The special task force has obtained bank documents related to these accounts,” said a statement by the task force yesterday, adding that the documents investigated had been provided by the group itself and were not the ones the WSJ had published.

The dates of the closures of Mr Najib’s accounts were close to the dates of the alleged fund transfers.

The WSJ had claimed that US$681 million originating from Tanore Finance, a company in the British Virgin Islands, was deposited into Mr Najib’s accounts in two transactions on March 21 and 25 in 2013, ahead of the general elections in May that year.

Another sum of US$11.1 million originating from Finance Ministry-owned SRC International was reportedly moved in two tranches between December last year and February this year.

The task force, comprising the Attorney-General’s Chambers, central bank, federal police and anti-corruption agency, on Tuesday froze six bank accounts as part of its investigations.

However, it did not say at the time who the account holders were, leading to a swirl of speculation. “Regarding freeze orders issued on July 6, 2015 against six bank accounts, no bank accounts at AmBank Islamic held by the Prime Minister on that date were frozen because the accounts were already closed on August 30, 2013 and March 9, 2015, respectively,” the task force said in its statement yesterday.

The WSJ said the accounts that had been frozen were different from those it had reported on. It also uploaded documents it had used in its report that showed instructions for telegraphic transfers and charts showing the money trail.

Mr Najib has denied taking money for personal gain and said the WSJ’s allegations were part of political sabotage to unseat him.

Speaking at a Ramadan break-fast event in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, the Prime Minister said the government would ensure the truth would prevail in the ongoing probe into 1MDB’s alleged financial improprieties.

Urging Malaysians not to believe everything that is reported and circulated online, he added: “Don’t listen to nonsense… too much nonsense in the social media. We will ensure that truth emerges in the end.”

1MDB was set up in 2009 — the year Mr Najib assumed office — and has been plagued by controversies since its inception. Its overpriced investments over the years have resulted in a massive debt of RM42 billion (S$15 billion), which it has struggled to repay. Mr Najib heads its advisory board. Even before the WSJ article, the state-owned firm had been investigated by the authorities.

The Auditor-General’s Office, which began investigations three months ago, presented its interim report to the bipartisan parliamentary Public Accounts Committee yesterday. Committee chairman Nur Jazlan Mohamed said: “It’s too early to comment if there are wrongdoings.”

However, he noted that the auditor-general’s team faced obstacles as 1MDB was not cooperating fully, especially in terms of providing documents such as bank statements. AGENCIES