Singapore freezes bank accounts linked to Malaysian 1MDB probe

Singapore’s police have frozen two bank accounts as part of an investigation linked to Malaysian sovereign fund 1MDB, which is being probed by authorities in Malaysia for financial mismanagement and graft.

Mr Rahman has endorsed Mr Melanyi, saying his confessions in two videos were proof of attempts to undermine Mr Najib, reported the Malaysiakini news website.

It did not identify the banks or the accounts in question because the investigation is continuing.

The Malaysian premier is the head of the firm’s advisory board.

Days later, Razak’s legal team rebutted that the WSJ article did not clarify whether the money reportedly deposited into the prime minister’s accounts was from debt-ridden 1MDB.

The order to freeze the accounts was issued last week, said the police, without divulging the name of the banks as investigation was still underway.

1MDB representatives and Malaysian government officials weren’t immediately available for comment.

Meanwhile, the Sarawak Report, a whistle-blower site that made the same allegations of fund transfers to Mr Najib’s accounts, has said it is preparing to file police reports against Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Governance Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan and former journalist Lester Melanyi for criminal defamation.

Najib, who took office in 2009, has denied the accusations of money laundering, dismissing them as part of a malicious campaign to bring down his leadership.

In an e-mail to the Malay Mail Online yesterday, Dow Jones said it had responded to a request for clarification from Mr Najib’s lawyers and that it will continue to stand by the accuracy of its reports.

Razak’s attorney Wan Azmir Wan Majid told Anadolu Agency that a letter sent on July 8 had given the WSJ’s publisher Dow Jones a deadline until Tuesday to explain the allegation.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore, the city-state’s central bank, said this month it was providing assistance to Malaysian authorities in their investigation.

This follows the arrest of the director of a construction company at Kuala Lumpur’s global airport on Monday.