Khairuddin was to meet FBI on Monday, reports NYT

Former Batu Kawan Umno vice-chief Datuk Khairuddin Abu Hassan was supposed to meet the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Monday, says The New York Times. – September 19, 2015. 

Former Batu Kawan Umno vice-chief Datuk Khairuddin Abu Hassan was scheduled to meet agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Monday, his lawyer Matthias Chang told The New York Times.

He said the appointment was made with assistance from the US Embassy in Malaysia.

The report also stated that the arrest, which came hours after a planned departure on Friday, prevented Khairuddin from meeting the American law enforcement officials to push them to investigate 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).  

He was picked up at his house in Mont Kiara yesterday evening over an attempt to topple the government.

His wife, Datin Umie Aida, posted on Instagram that Khairuddin was being detained under Section 124C, for offences related to activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy.

Prior to his arrest yesterday, Khairuddin had also posted on his Facebook claiming that he had been blacklisted from traveling overseas.

He claimed he was supposed to fly to New York and London at 10.30am, but was barred from leaving and had been blacklisted by the Immigration Department under orders of Bukit Aman police.

Khairuddin, one of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's critics, had been reported to have travelled to countries in Europe and Asia to push for investigations over alleged discrepancies of debt-ridden 1MDB.

Najib is chairman of 1MDB's advisory board.

The Umno man handed over evidence to the Swiss authorities on August 20 and urged them to investigate the state investment arm's activities involving Swiss and international banks.

He insisted that he only acted in the country's best interests.

Khairuddin, who was sacked from his post in Umno earlier this year for being a bankrupt, also lodged reports with Hong Kong, British, and French police over 1MDB in July and August.

Malaysian officials however accused Khairuddin of lodging "false and politically motivated police reports" and pushing the same agenda as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had been insistent in his calls for Najib to step down.

- TMI