The MACC expects to recover RM5 billion out of the remaining RM12 billion lost in the 1MDB scandal, said chief commissioner Azam Baki.
He said he was unsure whether the RM5 billion sum would be received within the year, but assured that efforts are underway to quickly recover the assets lost in the scandal.
“The total 1MDB funds that were misappropriated and traced are around RM42 billion, and we have successfully recovered funds, including assets of around RM30 billion.
“So, that means there is still a balance of RM12 billion, but we expect to recover around RM5 billion more,” he told Berita Harian.
He was speaking at a recent episode of the Malay-language daily’s “Borak Hari Ini” podcast.
On Dec 26, the Kuala Lumpur High Court found former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak guilty on all four counts of abuse of power and all 21 money laundering charges linked to the 1MDB scandal.
The former Umno president was handed 15 years’ imprisonment and ordered to pay a total fine of RM11.38 billion for the four abuse of power offences.
Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah also found a clear nexus between Najib and the wanted businessperson Low Taek Jho (Jho Low), the alleged mastermind of the scandal.
Big chunk of funds from Obaid, Low’s relatives
Commenting further, Azam said the RM5 billion sum comes from several individuals, including Petrosaudi International Ltd director Tarek Obaid and Low’s relatives.
Of the amount, US$600 million (about RM2.4 billion) will come from Obaid, he said.
In October, the MACC obtained a court order to restrain the trading of 2.5 million shares in Palantir Technologies Inc registered under Obaid’s name, based on information that the man had received, transferred, and utilised proceeds from the misappropriation of 1MDB funds in 2010.
Obaid co-founded Petrosaudi International, the Saudi oil company that was at the centre of the 2009 joint venture with 1MDB.
Investigations later revealed that billions of ringgit were siphoned from the deal, marking the beginning of what would become the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal.
Petrosaudi was portrayed at the time as a strategic partner that would give 1MDB access to international energy markets.
However, leaked documents and investigations in several jurisdictions had shown that the venture was used as a vehicle to divert billions into accounts controlled by Low and his associates.
‘Even Switzerland helped’
Azam said accounts belonging to Low’s family members will be returned to the Malaysian government in the near future.
MACC officers are negotiating the matter with the United States and the United Kingdom, he added.
He praised the cooperation of other countries, saying that even those with a reputation of being difficult to work with, such as Switzerland, have “opened the door” for collaboration.
“As I said, I want it to be resolved immediately without any delay.
“With the involvement of several individuals, I expect that the MACC will recover 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.8 billion first,” he said.
The process was not an easy one, he said, as it involved the recovery of assets from criminals.
70pct recovery
While he said he did not have any key performance indicators to achieve, he opined that a recovery rate of about 70 percent is a good effort.
A quick calculation by Malaysiakini shows that 70 percent of the RM42 billion lost in the scandal amounts to RM29.4 billion, slightly below the RM30 billion that the commission has recovered. This means that the MACC has already met the target.
However, Azam said part of the difficulties encountered by the MACC in its efforts to recover the funds were the complicated web of transactions.
“It’s not just about going to people’s homes to confiscate money.
“The detection also involves money lost through the various accounts under the names of proxies,” he explained. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.