Putrajaya today said that Paul Phua Wei Seng, the gambling kingpin currently being tried in a US court, does not have a criminal record despite reports claiming he had been convicted for illegal betting in 2004.
Malaysiakini had reported in January that Phua was once held in Miri, Sarawak, on gambling charges in connection with the Euro Cup 2004.
Sources told the portal that Phua was charged and convicted and was slapped with a fine.
The report said he paid the fine and left the country and was subsequently denied entry into Malaysia during the 2008 World Cup.
Phua and his son Darren are currently standing trial in the United States over a multimillion-dollar betting scheme. They were alleged to have accepted wagers on the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
It was also reported that Phua had accepted citizenship from Montenegro between October 2013 and October 2014.
This was before Zahid had written a letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), vouching for Phua and declaring that he was not a member of the Hong Kong 14K triad.
Zahid also told the FBI that Phua had helped Putrajaya in national security projects.
In his letter dated December 14, 2014, Zahid said Putrajaya continued to call upon Phua to assist the government from time to time and as such, Putrajaya was eager for him to return to Malaysia.
Zahid came under fire for writing the letter, which was exposed by the South China Morning Post on December 31.
However, on March 24, the home minister took a religious oath to stress that he did not know Phua nor had he enjoyed any benefit from the gambling kingpin.
Zahid added that he had never had any contact with the former Macau casino junket operator.
"As a Muslim, Wallahi Wabillahi Watallahi, I have never received a single sen from the gambler. In fact I was never involved with the person or any form of illegal money," he said in his winding up speech on the Royal address in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Umno lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah had previously defended Zahid's actions, saying that his firm was engaged by US legal firm Chesnoff and Schonfeld to assist in Phua's case.
Shafee's legal firm and Chesnoff and Schonfeld wrote a letter to the home minister requesting his assistance to share any information directly with the FBI.
Zahid said the letter between him and the FBI was not meant for public eyes and accused those who leaked the contents of the letter of being irresponsible, saying it was aimed at smearing his reputation.
"The letter is a government document. It is private and confidential," he said, adding that the police were investigating and action would be taken against those who had leaked it.
- TMI
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