Malaysia’s attorney general defends govt over fund scandal

The Sarawak Report, a website based in Britain that has been investigating the scandal, reported this week that the documents provided to Mr. Najib’s Malaysian bank identified the donor as Saud Abdulaziz Majid al-Saud.

Both Najib and the state-owned development compa- ny, 1Malaysia Development Berhad, vehemently deny any wrongdoing.

Malaysia’s central bank said it proposed criminal proceedings against a debt-ridden state investment company after its probe found inaccurate disclosures, a recommendation the Attorney General dismissed as it concluded there was no wrongdoing.

Malaysia’s central bank says state investment fund 1MDB violated foreign exchange rules and must repatriate a total of $1.83 billion that it used overseas.

The central bank is perhaps the most respected government institution in Malaysia, but it remained to be seen whether the recommendation would be heeded by Najib’s government, which has moved to hobble scrutiny of the affair.

Separate investigations by the police and the anti-corruption agency were not yet completed as statements of a few key witnesses have not been recorded, it said in a statement. The various investigations are now widely believed to be stalled, though government officials insist that is not true.

Bank Negara’s statement appeared to indicate either confusion or divisions within the government.

The anti-corruption commission said in August that it was told by the attorney general the task force was no longer needed, a claim the chambers denied Thursday.

Investigations into the fund by various organisations have dragged on with no conclusion in sight.

He added that with the proclamation asking for a speedy resolution to the 1MDB issue, the Prime Minister, as the head of Government, was the appropriate party that should heed it.

Malaysia’s next elections are not until 2018.

But regulators in the United States and elsewhere are now reportedly scrutinising the complex money trails, with authorities in Switzerland and Singapore announcing they have frozen millions of dollars in funds as they probe possible money-laundering and other crimes.

Razak himself has become entrenched in the ensuing investigation with the Wall Street Journal reporting that investigators probing the fund had discovered that almost 2.6 billion Ringgit was deposited in Razak’s private bank account.

His allies say the almost $700 million transferred into his account in 2013 was a donation from Middle Eastern royalty.