'So, Najib dares not go after RM400m seized by the Swiss?'

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua has questioned Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s apparent inaction over the RM400 million in 1MDB-related funds seized by the Swiss government.

“Is the prime minister so embarrassed by the fact that so much money has been stolen and laundered from 1MDB that he doesn’t dare to seek the repatriation of these funds?

“At the very least, has the prime minister attempted to seek clarification from the Swiss authorities to verify the authenticity of the findings that the RM400 million were funds stolen from 1MDB?” Pua asked in a statement today.

On Tuesday, Tages Anzeige reported that Swiss government is looking to pocket CHF95 million (RM400 million) from 1MDB-linked funds from several banks.

Although some Swiss lawmakers support the repatriation of at least some of the seized funds, the country's financial regulator Finma argues that only persons “directly damaged" by its actions can seek restitution through legal processes.

In his statement, Pua said the government’s silence was particularly deafening in the wake of the yesterday’s seizure of businessperson Low Taek Jho @ Jho Low’s yacht The Equanimity by Indonesian authorities and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The yacht, valued at an estimated US$250 million (RM1 billion), is just one of the assets being sought by the US Department of Justice for allegedly being purchased using laundered money originating from 1MDB.

“Are we going to let the US keep the proceeds from the seizure of these assets, worth nearly RM7 billion, and not do anything about it?

“Did Najib ask his ‘good friend’ US President Donald Trump that the funds be returned to 1MDB, so that it can pay its RM40 billion debt?

“Or was the prime minister so generous as to pledge those funds, like he did on behalf of EPF and Khazanah Nasional, to invest the money to ‘revive’ the US economy?” Pua asked, making reference to Najib promising billions in “value propositions” when he met with the US president last year.

The DAP lawmaker said that allowing billions in seized funds to sit idly overseas would be unjust, given that many Malaysians are squeezed to increase the government’s revenue base, such as with the GST.

“That is money that could be used to build our hospitals, schools and improve our infrastructure,” he said.

The recovery of these funds and its return to the rakyat would be made a priority, he added, should Pakatan Harapan capture Putrajaya in the coming general election.- Mkini