Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak today repeated his claim that the International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) owes 1MDB money.
In a Facebook posting, Najib said IPIC's settlement with 1MDB – which has not been made public – shows that the Abu Dhabi firm is supposed to pay all allegedly missing funds by 2020.
"If these agreement documents are exposed, then it would be proven that Najib is not a thief or a crook, and had strived to ensure the rights and wealth of Malaysians are maintained," he said.
The missing funds Najib was referring to are the US$3.5 billion (RM14.64 billion at current rates) 1MDB was supposed to have paid IPIC subsidiary Aabar Investments PJS, which the Abu Dhabi firm said it did not receive.
The funds have become a point of contention, but Najib claimed that in an April 2017 settlement, IPIC had agreed that it should repay 1MDB the funds by 2020.
The former premier cited the settlement in his posting, specifically the line that says "the parties have also agreed to enter into good faith discussions in relation to payments made by 1MDB Group to certain entities."
Despite Najib claiming that IPIC will repay 1MDB, the line he cited is understood to mean that IPIC only agreed to further discuss the matter.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had previously said the documents cannot be revealed due to Najib already facing trial over the IPIC settlement.
The US Department of Justice has established that the 1MDB funds were channelled to a British Virgin Islands company with a similar name – Aabar Investments PJS Limited (Aabar BVI), which is unrelated to IPIC – which was then allegedly misappropriated by fugitive businessperson Jho Low and his associates.
In his Facebook posting, Najib also asked why one of his chief critics, DAP leader Lim Kit Siang, had never spoken out about IPIC executives and their bosses not being questioned over the missing funds.
It was previously reported that former IPIC managing director Khadem al-Qubaisi had been arrested in Aug 2016 in relation to the 1MDB scandal.
Sarawak Report had claimed that former Aabar Investment PJS CEO Mohamed Ahmed Badawy al-Husseiny was also arrested earlier that year.
Al-Qubaisi and Al-Husseiny are alleged to have set-up Aabar BVI in March 2012, two months before it received US$576.94 million (RM2.42 billion) from 1MDB as a security deposit.
The DOJ claimed that both men had set up Aabar BVI with the intent of siphoning 1MDB funds.
It is unclear if they are still under arrest. - Mkini
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