YOURSAY | As its top officials were allegedly involved, UAE should take part of the blame.
Gov't challenges US$5.78b 1MDB-IPIC settlement in London
Anonymous_b3cdcd05: Way to go, Mr Attorney-General. It’s payback time for those who looted public funds.
The London arbitration settlement between 1MDB/Minister of Finance Inc (MOF) and International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) was a double whammy for Malaysian taxpayers.
The initial scam was monies meant for Aabar Investments PJS being diverted to the offshore British Virgin Islands (BVI) entity Aabar Investments PJS Ltd. It now appears this con entailed the collusion of the crooks from both ends of the 1MDB/IPIC venture scam.
What is even more troubling is whether this was the same money that was subsequently re-routed as the US$1 billion loan from IPIC to 1MDB to meet its overdue bond commitments.
When former 1MDB chief Arul Kanda Kandasamy was questioned about Aabar's denial of receiving the 1MDB payments, he nonchalantly dismissed it as "it’s not our business".
In hindsight, it appears he knew about the scam and was protecting the crooks or more than what he was willing to divulge. Then came the second scam in the form of the London tribunal settlement. Despite MOF's vehement stand and bravado not to give in to the IPIC claims, they meekly conceded to part with a whopping US$5.78 billion of public funds. We were made victims a second time.
Malaysians were flabbergasted with the docile caving in by the MoF and that we were duped a second time by the crooks.
Obviously, MOF was in no position to take a stand for the simple reason that then PM Najib Abdul Razak was on the line. MOF had "everything to hide".
Win or lose, we must fight and expose the entire 1MDB/IPIC Saudi venture scam.
KedahKenari: So, the original US$3.5 billion paid to the wrong company has gone missing. So Najib & Co then agreed to pay the same sum back to the original lenders, IPIC and Aabar, plus interest at the tribunal?
After that, Najib authorises repayments from BR1M funds, etc, without parliamentary or cabinet approval?
Basically, in a couple of almost childlike transactions (I did pay you back, honest … oh, sorry, wrong account … oh never mind, here you go, take this instead), Najib allegedly siphoned off U$3.5 billion just like that.
Is it that easy? Was nobody looking? And the U$3.5 billion sent to the wrong account has been allegedly spent on paintings, yachts, Paris Hilton, Rosmah Mansor’s jewels and who knows what else.
The IPIC and Aabar boys were obviously in on the deal as once the money ends up in Jho Low’s British Virgin Islands account, he could have done what he wanted with it, but for crying out loud, Najib doesn’t have the mental capacity to pull this off himself, there must have been a queue of "assistants" as long as the Equanimity involved in this one singular part of the overall heist. And he wants to talk about his legacy.
Anonymous_1419577444: Central to the whole case is: where did IPIC and Aabar get the money to lend to 1MDB in the first place?
If both cannot prove they got the money from an independent source, then this will be like a circular money trip. Malaysia's money is siphoned off via 1MDB to IPIC and Aabar, which then lends the same money back to 1MDB, which then acknowledges that it owes IPIC and Aabar the money, with interest payments even!
Fortis Est Veritas: Get the best Queen’s Counsel available to contest the award. The rakyat will benefit immensely if the attorney-general can pull this off.
Najib probably has considerable assets overseas. We hope that a forensic audit of these will be made.
Seladang: The AG is forthright in reneging the previous arbitration agreement with IPIC, which is a party to criminal intent to defraud the Malaysian government with the connivance of Najib, Jho Low and Goldman Sachs by paying the initial amount of US$1.46 billion.
These Umno-BN leaders, together with the previous Treasury secretary-general, must be punished for their treachery.
The AG must institute an early trial of these kleptocrats and (if found guilty) they must be locked up in jail forever and the keys thrown away to teach a lesson to future political thieves, disguising as saviours, to plunder the nation's wealth.
The balance US$4.8 billion must not be paid and contested and the IPIC company directors must be charged with criminal fraud.
Goldman Sachs bond financiers must also be charged with scalping from the previous Malaysian kleptocrat government, extremely high fees of five percent for the bond arrangement.
The attorney-general must challenge all the previous government's international financial loans to detect corrupt practices and fraud.
Ferdtan: What Najib and his BN government did at the arbitration tribunal on May 9 last year with IPIC and Aabar as claimants and 1MDB and the MOF Inc as respondents, was not to contest strongly and not to drag on the scandal longer than necessary, as the 14th general election was be expected to be called soon.
So, it means they capitulated meekly and were willing to pay through their nose just to hush up the controversy and make it go away.
As the IPIC's top officials have been shown to be involved, the UAE (Abu Dhabi) should take part of the blame. Why should Malaysia pay twice, once to a fraudulent account (with complicity of UAE officials) and now we have to pay the real party?
Hplooi: The IPIC-1MDB agreement was also fraudulent on the basis of so-called "collateral" put up by IPIC. The "collateral" (a drilling ship for an ostensible Venezuela oil exploration permit) was a misrepresentation.
So the IPIC people are just as culpable on the 1MDB heist.
Abasir: Does former AG Mohamed Apandi Ali, even after all that's transpired, not understand how the consent award was obtained by fraudulent means?
Didn't it occur to him that the parties involved were at one time partners in a scheme to defraud the Malaysian government?
Or is it possible he will realise the crookedness for what it is only when AG Tommy Thomas explains everything in Malay?
Vijay47: In a few lines, a few short paragraphs, AG Tommy Thomas has in a simple succinct manner, explained the standing of the consent award that Najib as head of 1MDB and MOF had entered into with the claimant.
It would be most interesting to see what Apandi, our former attorney-general, has to say on this turn of events. Najib would, of course, explain that he had assumed that the claims by IPIC and Aabar were in order.
The best part is that the AG is applying for Malaysia to be relieved from the obligation to make further payments and better still, seeks the recovery of the US$1.46 billion already given away by Malaysia’s Santa Claus.
Undecided: Whatever the outcome is, it is comforting that the government will leave no stone unturned to retrieve the stolen billions from 1MDB by its former kleptocrat prime minister.
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