Seizure of Musa Aman's UBS records suggests DOJ, NCA and ors may well move against other ministers, politicians
This writer has already shown that the DOJ 1 MDB asset seizure was based on phone and email records.
It was also observed that Najib,and the rest of the Malaysian cabinet, and other public servants involved in the 1 MDB matter need to be more concerned about what else the FBI and the DOJ have discovered, rather than convince the public that the DOJ action is without merit.
The case of Musa Aman and UBS(see reports below) suggests that while they were prepared to look away, foreign enforcement agencies are not now as obliging, and will act against Malaysian and other politicians known or suspected to be clients of banks within their jurisdiction.
That a number of Malaysian politicians have received money stolen from 1 MDB has in fact been admitted by Malaysian Attorney General Appandi, even as he attempted to convince himself and others that the source of funds was some Arabian knight.
Swiss court orders UBS to release Malaysian corruption records
24.06.2016
Swiss court orders UBS to release Malaysian corruption records
LAUSANNE (SWITZERLAND) Records by the Swiss bank UBS on its business ties with Malaysian top politician Musa Aman must be released to the Swiss Attorney General’s Office and can be used in criminal proceedings against the bank. This was declared on Thursday by the Swiss Federal Court in Lausanne.
In November 2014, Swiss prosecutors confiscated confidential bank records on UBS’ relationship with Musa Aman, a Malaysian politician involved in a US$ 90 million corruption scandal. Musa has been accused of collecting bribes for the granting of concessions for logging of tropical rainforests in Malaysian Borneo. The payments, some of which were earmarked as “deposits for logging concessions” were collected through UBS bank accounts in Singapore and Hong Kong. Following a complaint under criminal law by the Bruno Manser Fonds, the Swiss Attorney General’s office opened criminal proceedings against the bank in 2012.
Despite its public announcement that it was fully cooperating with the investigation, UBS had key documents on its relationship with Musa Aman sealed and refused to share them with the prosecutors. The bank argued that no accused could be forced to testify against itself, an argument which the Swiss federal court refused to follow in this case. The court stated that the investigation of this grave case of international corruption and money-laundering justified the release of the relevant bank records to the prosecutors. The judges also said that bank records field for regulatory purposes must be made available to prosecutors in criminal proceedings.
The Bruno Manser Fund welcomes this important decision by the Swiss Federal Court and expects that UBS will be charged for money-laundering in the Musa Aman case within the next weeks.
- http://sahathevan.blogspot.my/
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