Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad reiterated today that only an idiot will believe he can influence US Department of Justice (DOJ) to initiate civil forfeiture suits against 1MDB.
In his latest blog posting, Mahathir sardonically said that he was flattered by claims that he, a powerless man, could instruct DOJ to do something.
"If I could issue a directive to a US agency, then someone would have been arrested and charged for stealing billions of dollars long ago. Equitable punishment would have been imposed on such a person," he said.
"Unfortunately, I, as the former prime minister of 'toothless' Malaysia, do not have such influence over any agency in the US, and also in Malaysia," he said.
"Only those who are stupid will believe," he said, adding that this showed that 'dedak' (bribes) given by the prime minister Najib Abdul Razak may have worked on these people.
Unlike Malaysia, which is satisfied with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's statement that an Arab national donated the RM2.6 billion to him, Mahathir said the US took stern action against those involved in money-laundering.
'Using foreign power to interfere'
Mahathir and the opposition have been accused of using foreign power to interfere in the country's internal affairs, soon after the DOJ filed its third forfeiture lawsuit in a US court on June 15.
The DOJ is seeking to seize more than US$1 billion in assets it said were purchased with money stolen from 1MDB. In the suit, DOJ also shed light on what happened to the US$620 million that MO1 had returned to his "donor".
The DOJ also alleged that at least US$27.3 million was used to buy a 22-carat pink diamond pendant and necklace for “MO1's wife”.
Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali has also cleared Najib of wrongdoing in the 1MDB matter.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan had confirmed that MO1 was Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
Mahathir, who is also Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chairperson, said MO1's wife and the recipients of illegal funds have yet to return misappropriated money to Malaysians, despite celebrities Leonardo DiCaprio and Miranda Kerr having returned their gifts given by controversial figure Jho Low.
"They are thick-skinned and shameless. When they were alleged to have stolen (the money), these people, including Najib and Umno leaders, just smiled," Mahathir said.
He said Jho Low and Najib's stepson Riza Aziz should have challeged the lawsuit filed by DOJ in the US court.
Citing a Malay proverb "berani kerana benar, takut kerana salah" (why should one be afraid if one has not faulted), he said both Riza and Low do not dare to take on the DOJ, thus they were hiding in China and in Malaysia.
Mahathir deems their moves to be admission of the DOJ's accusations.- FMT
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