1MDB's failure to deny the allegation of tampering in its 2014 financial statement submitted to Bank Negara lends credence to the charge, says Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua.

Pua yesterday accused 1MDB of doctoring the financial statement in its loan application to banks by altering a single word.

He alleged that even though 1MDB's financial statement stated its fund was "substantially utilised", it was altered to "substantially set-aside" to give the impression the firm was still rich in funds.

1MDB yesterday slammed Pua ( photo ) for the allegation, but it did not confirm nor deny his claim.

"After 1MDB’s non-statement, there is now greater reason to believe the audited accounts have indeed been doctored.  

"As stated yesterday during my press conference, if discrepancies are found with the financial statement, as I have alleged, I call upon the Bank Negara to immediately file police reports to protect its interest and that of its shareholders," he added.

1MDB's SOP

1MDB had described Pua's claim as "unsubstantiated and damaging" and pointed out that he was a third party and not a banker who is privy to the company's internal dealings.

The firm also stressed it was bound to confidentiality and that no bank had declared that 1MDB has defaulted on its loans.

However, Pua poured cold water on the explanation, stating: "It is now clear that the standard operating procedure for 1MDB, if it is unable to answer straightforward questions, is to first discredit the critic or source, and second, to cite 'confidentiality obligations'."

"A simple read of 1MDB's three-paragraph statement will leave anyone crystal clear that there was no denial of the very serious allegation of tampering.

“The 'confidentiality' argument doesn't even hold water, because we are not asking for the documents to be revealed but whether the documents have been tampered with," Pua added.

The allegation came amid a report in May that a consortium of banks led by Deutsche Bank demanded early repayment of a US$975 million loan from 1MDB after it found that 1MDB's securitisation documents to be "incomplete".

The loan, due for repayment in September, was settled by 1MDB in June.