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Bersatu's accounts frozen more than 2 weeks ago, says MACC chief
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2023/02/01/bersatus-accounts-frozen-more-than-2-weeks-ago-says-macc-chief/
It is believed that the freeze is related to the MACC's probe on government funds amounting to RM92.5 billion of pandemic stimulus funds that were allegedly misappropriated.
Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz (left) and Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop. -filepic
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| Point of contention: According to a source, the MACC is investigating allegations of misconduct involving Zeti and Nor Mohamed. |
MACC also investigating ex-minister nor Mohamed
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JAYA: Former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz and former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop are being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-corruption Commission (MACC) over 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds, says a report.
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Police were also investigating Zeti’s husband Datuk Tawfiq Ayman over allegations that he received funds related to 1MDB, Mingguan Malaysia reported yesterday, quoting a source.
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“The case has been completed with proposed charges under Section 4 (1) (a) of the Anti-money Laundering, Prevention of Financing of Terrorism and Proceeds from Illegal Activities Act 2001 to be filed in the near future,” the source told the newspaper.
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The source reportedly added that the agency’s investigation focused more on the receipt of money into Tawfiq’s account in Singapore after Rm5bil was raised by 1MDB in 2009 via the Ambank Group.
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According to the report, the matter was exposed when the MACC sought to recover 1MDB’S assets locally and from abroad, involving several “big names” associated with the sovereign wealth fund.
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“Among the 1MDB’S assets abroad are those in Switzerland, Kuwait, Mauritius, Cyprus and Hong Kong, which are worth Rm20.5bil,” said the report.
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“These individuals were identified when the Commercial Affairs Department of Singapore on Nov 12 returned the money belonging to the former CEO of SRC International Sdn Bhd, Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, to the Malaysian government through the Asset Recovery Trust Account of the Finance Ministry worth RM3,617,513.91 (US$864,813.27),” it added.
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The Malay paper noted that earlier, Singapore had returned assets amounting to Rm64.42mil (Us$15.4mil) involving the Cutting Edge Industries Ltd account owned by Tawfiq and his business partner Samuel Goh.
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On the investigation on Zeti and Nor Mohamed, the source told Mingguan Malaysia that the MACC was investigating allegations of misconduct, with the report noting that every investment involving 1MDB funds at that time was definitely done with Nor Mohamed’s knowledge.
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The source also said the MACC was investigating them under the MACC Act 2009 and the Money Laundering Act 2001.
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The paper added that when contacted, MACC Money Laundering Division director Mohammad Zamri Zainul Abidin confirmed receiving a complaint from a non-governmental organisation on Dec 22 urging an investigation be carried out on Zeti and Nor Mohamed.
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Zamri also confirmed that the MACC had received a report by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in October last year against former Goldman Sachs senior manager Tim Leissner, and this was being investigated too.
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PETALING JAYA: A group has come forward to lodge a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) alleging corrupt practices by high-ranking Securities Commission (SC) officials.
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The non-governmental organisation calling itself Rakyat Malaysia Prihatin claimed to have evidence of alleged wrongdoings that also involved politicians holding top government posts.
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“I want the MACC to investigate this matter immediately. We do not want the integrity and image of the SC to be tarnished due to such cases,” an unnamed representative of the group told Utusan Malaysia after lodging the report with MACC in Putrajaya at about 4.30pm on Sunday (Jan 9).
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The representative cited three cases, the first involving a relative of a senior SC management official who was allegedly given a top post in a company.
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The company in question was being investigated by the SC with the appointment being an alleged inducement to cover up the company’s wrongdoings.
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“There is also a case involving conflict of interest, where a SC board member is alleged to be holding shares worth RM28.2mil in a company which has a working relationship with the commission.
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“The third case involves high-ranking SC officials taking bribes to close cases involving insider trading by public-listed companies,” the representative claimed.
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The group said it was acting as "concerned rakyat" who wanted to ensure that government agencies are clean and not corruptly used for personal gain.
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It then added that it would provide the MACC with proof of the wrongdoings once investigations begin.
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PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is going through a report lodged by a non-governmental organisation against the Securities Commission (SC).A senior official confirmed that the report was lodged on Sunday by a group calling itself Rakyat Malaysia Prihatin.
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The NGO has alleged that there are corrupt practices by high-ranking SC officials.
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It also claimed to have evidence of alleged wrongdoings that involved politicians holding top government posts.
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“Yes, we have received the report. MACC officers are going through it before we decide to open investigation papers or not,” said the official when contacted.
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This, the official added, was the procedure each time a report was lodged.
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To a question, the official said it was not unusual to have people wanting to lodge reports to MACC on weekends or public holidays.
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“It has been done before. We have officers on standby 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said the official.Several attempts were made to contact the NGO members for comment yesterday.The Star managed to get hold of the contact number of its representative, but the phone was answered by a person who claimed that he was not the person this reporter was looking for.
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On Sunday night, Utusan Malaysia reported about the NGO going to the MACC.“I want the MACC to investigate this matter immediately. We do not want the integrity and image of the SC to be tarnished due to such cases,” an unnamed representative of the group was quoted as saying after lodging the report with MACC in Putrajaya at about 4.30pm on Sunday.
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He cited three cases, the first involving a relative of a senior SC management official who was allegedly given a top post in a company.
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The company in question was being investigated by the SC with the appointment being an alleged inducement to cover up the company’s wrongdoings.
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“There is also a case involving conflict of interest, where a SC board member is alleged to be holding shares worth RM28.2mil in a company which has a working relationship with the commission.
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“The third case involves high- ranking SC
`officials taking bribes to close cases involving insider trading by public-listed companies,” the representative claimed.
The group said it was acting as “concerned rakyat” who wanted to ensure that government agencies were clean and not used for personal gain.It also said it would provide the MACC with proof of the wrongdoings once investigations began.
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Park Geun-hye became South Korea's first
democratically elected leader to be thrown out of office after being
impeached in 2017. - Reuters
The Star South Korea pardons disgraced ex-president Park Geun-hye
Ms Choi, 60, is daughter of the late Choi Tae Min, a shadowy religious figure who married six times, had multiple pseudonyms and set up a cult-like group known as the Church of Eternal Life.
Mr Choi befriended a traumatised Ms Park after the 1974 and 1979 assassinations of her mother and father, who he said had appeared in his dreams asking for his help.
Mr Choi became a key mentor for the young Ms Park, a role that angered a number of key aides to her father, the country's then military ruler Park Chung Hee
see more https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/choi-soon-sil-the-female-rasputin-at-the-centre-of-south-koreas-political-scandal
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KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court today ordered the government to immediately return assets which were seized from former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, their three children and several others.
Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan made the order after dismissing the government's application which sought to forfeit hundreds of items including designer handbags, vehicles and cash in various currencies said to be linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.
In his decision, Zaini said the prosecution had failed to prove that the properties seized were connected to unlawful activities.
He said there was no evidence to show that the properties seized from Najib, Rosmah, their children Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz (Najib's stepson), Nor Ashman and Nooryana Najwa, were bought using money in the former prime minister's bank accounts.
The prosecution, he said, had in fact admitted that some of the seized properties were gifts.
He said the prosecution's argument that the cash and properties in question could have been gained from the monies deposited in Najib's bank accounts was based on presumption.
"The prosecution merely listed down the properties seized and their value, and in turn concluded that these respondents do not have the means to such a huge amount of cash or to purchase these properties based on their income.
"They had surmised that the cash and properties concerned could have only been gained from the monies deposited in the first respondent's (Najib) accounts.
"It is apparent that the applicant had only come to this conclusion based on presumption," he said.
The judge added that there was lack of evidence to prove that there was a direct link between the monies that were alleged to have been illegally gained to the cash found and the properties bought.
He said there was simply no nexus proven in the case.
He also rejected the government's bid to forfeit the monies kept in three Hong Leong bank accounts and the RM15 million bungalow in Penang belonging to Goh Gaik Ewe, the mother of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho saying that the prosecution had failed to prove that the bank accounts were related to or had been used for the commission of unlawful activities.
He said the relationship between Goh and any of the characters or entities in the 1MDB affairs was also conspicuously missing.
"The applicant did not offer any evidence to show how the monies deposited into these bank accounts were linked to any illegal transactions or that they were proceeds of unlawful activities.
"As for the bungalow, there was simply no averment whatsoever in any of the applicant's affidavits pertaining to it," he said.
The others who get to keep their monies following the government's failure in its bid to forfeit the assets were company Senijauhar Sdn Bhd, Aiman Ruslan, former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng and his wife Lim Hwee Bin.
The court however, allowed the government's bid to forfeit the assets from the respondents that did not contest the application namely Mohd Kyizzad Mesran, Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia, Yayasan Semesta, Yayasan Mustika Kasih and Rembulan Kembara Sdn Bhd and those who have absconded who were former 1MDB officers Kee Kok Thiam, Tan Vern Tact and Terence Geh Choh Hun.
Deputy public prosecutor Harris Ong Mohd Jeffrey Ong informed the court that the prosecution will be filing an appeal against the decision and asked for a stay of the order to return money to the respondents.
However, Zaini said the court will not make any order for a stay.
"If the forfeiture application is denied, it is a natural progression that the prosecution should return it (properties) back (to the respondents)," the judge said.
On May 8, 2019, the Attorney General's Chambers filed a notice of motion to forfeit hundreds of items, allegedly linked to 1MDB scandal, including handbags of various brands and 27 vehicles seized from Najib, Rosmah, their three children, as well as 13 individuals and companies.
In addition, money amounting to more than RM18 million in several bank accounts at Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, Al-Rajhi Bank Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd, CIMB Bank Bhd, RHB Bank Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, AmBank Bhd and Hong Leong Bank Bhd, that was frozen between Aug 16, 2018 and March 11, 2019.
Among the items mentioned in the forfeiture notice are handbags, shoes and watches of various brands, as well as cash in various currencies that were seized by the police on May 17, 2018 and June 11, 2018, as well as 27 Nissan vehicles that were seized on Aug 2, 2018 and a piece of land in Tanjung Bungah, Penang.
More News
The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) is appalled at the news that former Prime Minister Najib Razak has been allowed his passport for travel, especially since he has already been convicted of serious corruption and criminal breaches of trust.
It bears stating again that Jho Low and Nik Faisal, central allies of Najib, are both still at large, and Malaysia cannot afford to give Najib any opportunity to escape, after being charged with multiple counts of money laundering and corruption in such a massive financial heist. We ask again what measures are in place to ensure he does not slip away
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READ MORE: The Najib Razak 1MDB Trial Ep 57: No action taken
https://aliran.com/web-specials/the-najib-razak-1mdb-trial-ep-57-no-action-taken/
As it stands, how is it that Najib, who owes the government such a hefty sum, is allowed to leave the country, while PTPTN (student) loan and income tax defaulters get blacklisted?
While the blacklist for PTPTN loan defaulters has since been overturned, this still represents a gross inequity in treatment. Double standards in the execution of the law will greatly affect the upholding of the rule of law.
Should it really be a case of class and caste, action has to be taken to protect the judiciary against the pulling of strings and offering of favours, to ensure that justice is meted out properly, with the punishment befitting the crime.
We are dealing here with a convicted criminal who is barred from contesting in the coming general election, but he is allowed to travel overseas. Where is the logic in this?
We urge the Ismail Sabri Yaakob government to assure Malaysians that former PM Najib must account for his misdeeds and cannot be given preferential treatment. – C4 Center
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