KUALA LUMPUR — Whistleblower site Sarawak Report has asked a writer of the book "Billion Dollar Whale" to set the record straight on how he acquired former prime minister Najib Razak's bank account details in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

The site took Mr Tom Wright, a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) journalist, to task, claiming that he had gone back on his words after it introduced to his colleague a source in London who could provide documents detailing the transfer of money into Najib's bank accounts.

Sarawak Report, in an article on Tuesday, said Mr Wright agreed he would mention the site in return in the article he wrote using the documents he was given but he did not.

"That is not the only pledge he broke," Sarawak Report said in the article, titled "Time For The Wall Street Journal To Speak The Truth About Their Source?".

"He also said he would continue to contact the source through Sarawak Report and not attempt to go behind Sarawak Report's back. Far more importantly, he also promised that he would not reproduce the documents themselves on his website, because the source was fearful that showing the documents would point to who they were.

"Nevertheless, shortly after the original story Wright did put those documents up on the WSJ website, despite that promise, causing great fear to Sarawak Report's source, many of whose colleagues were indeed arrested shortly after, in a search for the leak."

The site said as a result of Mr Wright's actions, the source did not approach Sarawak Report again and after Sarawak Report was barred from entering Malaysia, the WSJ continued to use their access to the country to reconnect with the source and run more stories with material the source had provided.

Quoting a report on local online news portal Malaysiakini, Sarawak Report detailed how the source had apparently been so impressed by Mr Wright's earlier reports on 1MDB — written after Sarawak Report had broken the original scandal — that the source contacted Mr Wright directly via email under an account called "SaveMalaysia" and offered the material.

"Wright in his book acknowledges that Sarawak Report also ran the story at the same time, but gives no explanation as to how that could be.

"That senior newsman therefore knows perfectly well that the account as it is detailed in the Malaysiakini article is therefore false," it said.

Sarawak Report pointed out that Wright and his colleagues must therefore clarify whether what was reported by Malaysiakini was true in that Wright claimed the source contacted him directly or does he admit that Sarawak Report handed him the story.

"Wright has indicated that he plans to make a movie, something that is already planned by Sarawak Report.

"So this is undoubtedly the time to do so as Wright has never directly contacted Sarawak Report again since the day he published the item but instead contacted the intermediary to suggest in future to leave out Sarawak Report on further stories," it said.

Mr Wright co-authored "Billion Dollar Whale" with a colleague, Mr Bradley Hope, writing on the exploits of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho and his part in the 1MDB scandal.

It was released at about the same time as another book, "The Sarawak Report: The Inside Story of the 1MDB Expose", which was written by Ms Clare Rewcastle-Brown, the editor of the whistleblower site. MALAY MAIL