The 1MDB Scandal Has Soiled The PMO, The MACC And Now Who Else?

 The real amount of money that was stolen in the 1MDB scandal may never be fully known. It could be more than the RM40 billion that has been bounced around the media. I have always wondered what happened to that initial RM3.0 billion which was placed in the Terengganu Investment Authority or TIA. 

Recall that 1MDB was previously known as TIA. The TIA changed its name to 1MDB. 

What happened to the initial RM3.0 Billion funds which belonged to the TIA? Where did that RM3.0 Billion go? Perhaps there is more embarrassment behind that figure as well.  

That lady who may have made a hint about the matter almost got into a non-existent pickle. Not too long ago some pictures went viral via Whatsapp about some Mat Salleh architect company hosting numerous photos on their webpage showing one of their "master-pieces" in some jungle. 

1MDB is the largest financial scandal known to mankind. Throughout the history of the human race never has so much public funds been stolen through fraud and deceit.  And it could only happen in a society  where the people who know the value of money (and who pay taxes) are not in power whereas the people who are in power not only do not understand the value of money but many of them cannot  write the figure one billion in numbers. How many zeroes are there in a billion?   

The easy and loose behaviour of the people around the 1MDB scandal was greased by the huge amounts of public funds that came into their illegal possession. And it came to them so easily. RM40 Billion was just mindboggling.  

Just try adding up the following amounts :

1. The RM2.0 Billion Hakkasan Night Club Chain.

From this huge amount of RM40 billion, a small, tiny figure of just over RM2.0 billion (US$566 million) went into setting up the Hakkasan Nightclub in Las Vegas. 

Using loose change from 1MDB

2.  The "facilitators" made hundreds of millions from the 1MDB bond flips. 

Country Garden Securities Thailand and Aktis Capital Singapore made over RM600mil in one day with the help of Ambank after they flipped the 1MDB bonds.

3. About RM65 million was paid to that Bank Negara Governor's husband.

Country Garden Securities were acting on behalf of Jho Low of which we know over US$16mil (RM70mil) was almost immediately paid out to Z_ _i's family in Singapore.

4. More mamak runners made another RM85 million

Aktis Capital Singapore however were acting on behalf of a company called Morningstar Equities Ltd and made US$21.1mil (RM85mil) immediate profits.

5.  Even those crooks doing the menial "clerical works" were paid off in tens of millions of Ringgit.

 

"JASMINE Loo Ai Swan and Casey Tang Keng Chee were paid US$5.9 million (RM24m) and US$5.0 million (RM20m) respectively with money that originated in 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).   The 45-year-old Loo was the legal counsel for 1MDB while Tang, 53, was an executive director in charge of investments"

6.  Our former "spy-chief" was charged in court over 'misappropriation' of RM50.4 million (although not directly related to 1MDB but who knows), because ...

7. part of that money was made up of US$6 million which was later 'stolen' by some MACC guys while in their custody at the MACC.  

So believe me folks, more money must have been paid out to more people.  Everyone in power and authority who was needed to make this theft possible was cut into the action. That was how they were able to carry this off. 

I believe not all the people who were part of this theft have been brought to justice.  It will implicate too many other powerful people. 

Why am I writing this today? (I will have to say something about the Melaka polls sometime.)

Well yesterday, suddenly I received this flurry of whatsapp messages about the involvement of the Bank Negara people in this 1MDB scandal.  

There was that write up by Raja Petra Kamaruddin on Malaysia Today (actually a rerun of a story he had written earlier) about the Bank Negara people and their involvement in the 1MDB scandal from 2013 to 2016. 

Then there were viral messages about that other woman's husband again. 

But what was more interesting was that other viral message (quite a long one) about one more character  who has been closely involved in all these shenanigans but who has thus far escaped scrutiny or being investigated.   According to that viral message the fellow was quite at the center of the entire caper and that there has been no attempt at bringing this particular person to book or to recover the (possibly) tens or hundreds of millions he has siphoned from this caper.

The viral whatsapp message said even Najib the Prime Minister at that time has been charged, found guilty and they have confiscated substantial amounts of money and assets from Najib. Even that yacht Equanimity was confiscated and it has been auctioned off to recover some of the 1MDB money. 

But the whatsapp message asks how come this other person has not been charged in Court and none of the money he siphoned out is yet to be confiscated or recovered? Unlike Najib this guy gets to keep all his loot? 

Of that RM40 billion that was stolen, the MACC has so far recovered RM20.4 billion ONLY.  Where is the remaining RM20 billion? 

To conclude it is a huge stain on our entire country that since the 1990s the central bank of our country or Bank Negara Malaysia has been involved in scandal. 

And in this 1MDB caper as well,  once again prominent personalities associated with Bank Negara Malaysia are somehow linked to the 1MDB moneys.   

Now UMNO has won big in Melaka. Now they are even suggesting that Najib will return as Prime Minister. 

So who is going to save this country? Our country. Will the Malay people save this country? Will the Chinese people save the country? Will the Indians save the country? Will the Ibans and Dusuns save Malaysia?  Who is going to save this country?

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.