A big test for America

No, this is not about the current dilemma of choice between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. That's the US' domestic politics, albeit its impact elsewhere. 

The bigger test for the US, particularly in Asia and specifically Southeast Asia, is one of trustworthiness. 

The US' resolve in fighting kleptocracy and corrupt politicians globally is being put to test in Malaysia but many are unsure if the so-called 'fight' is for real or just another game of geopolitics.

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch' announcement of investigations by the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative was indeed light at the end of the tunnel for many Malaysians, including graft busters who were stonewalled by the top prosecutor. 

United States Seeks to Recover More Than $1 Billion Obtained from Corruption Involving Malaysian Sovereign Wealth Fund 

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced today the filing of civil forfeiture complaints seeking the forfeiture and recovery of more than $1 billion in assets associated with an international conspiracy to launder funds misappropriated from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.  Today’s complaints represent the largest single action ever brought under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative.

Attorney General Lynch was joined in the announcement by Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker of the Central District of California, FBI Deputy Director Andrew G. McCabe and Chief Richard Weber of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). - US Department of Justice 

Coming amidst attempts of an unprecedented cover up of almost anything and everything about 1MDB,  the US Attorney General's announcement was certainly bigger than a mere flicker of hope. 

Enforcement authorities from both Switzerland and Singapore have taken action against banks involved in money laundering and related crimes around the siphoning of funds from 1MDB. They say more actions are forthcoming. 

Naturally the high powered kleptocracy investigations by renowned US agencies under the DoJ, like the FBI and IRS, should be in high gear.  

A news article below points that a criminal investigation is indeed in progress in the US following DoJ civil suits to recover approximately USD 1billion of assets acquired from funds stolen from 1MDB.    

- Gilman says seizing assets from a foreign leader — and Razak is still in power — can create a diplomatic nightmare. But he says that can't impact the case.

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"The prime minister is not going to live forever. And when he's out of office and all this money is discovered in the U.S., are we better off having been pro-active or basically wait until the prime minister dies and apologize?" he says.

It's one thing to seize the stolen assets, another to retain them. The accused in all these cases employs a raft of lawyers, and it's often difficult to find witnesses and gather evidence overseas. For that reason, the Justice Department focus is on civil forfeitures, or trying to get the assets back, rather than prosecutions.

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Any money from the seized assets is sent back to the country to which it belongs.

No one has been prosecuted so far, but Caldwell says there is a criminal investigation in the 1MDB case that could lead to a prosecution.

So far the Kleptocracy Initiative has recovered about 10 percent of the assets it's gone after. And that white Michael Jackson glove? It's back in Equatorial Guinea.

Still, Caldwell says the unit has been successful, for a relatively new initiative.

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"I don't think the success of the Kleptocracy Initiative should necessarily be measured by the dollar amounts that we recover. I think it should be measured by the fact that we're doing it at all," she says.

The 1MDB case will be the big test, says lawyer Blum.

"It's a big challenge, because the money is so big and the consequences are so huge, they can't simply walk away and say it didn't happen," he says HERE

Listen HERE

Does criminal investigation by the US' Department of Justice give any hope to folks in Malaysia ?   

"How sure are you that the US won't use the DOJ probe to threaten him (Malaysian Official 1). The US knows he is pandering to China and they would want to win him over, by hook or crook. Don't you think so? a retired military officer opined when the DOJ probe popped up during our brief exchange recently. 

His first question when we bumped into each other at the Tropicana Mall was -"Ah! What happened to the 1MDB investigations by the US ? The query was accompanied by a snide smile.

Guess its only natural for a society to be suspicious after being continuously let down by their own enforcement agencies, elected leaders and the once trusted system of governance. 

Malaysia is now famous for all the wrong reasons.  

As a nation Malaysia is undergoing tough tests, the toughest since her Independence from the British in 1957 but it is certainly a much  significant test for the United States of America. 

It is almost THREE MONTHS since the July 20, 2016 bombshell by the US Attorney General. What next ?  

Investigators and prosecutors, no matter who and where they are, cannot be dragging their feet when a nation is sliding into dungeon due to massive fraud, corruption and outright treachery by those elected to lead.  

"It is unlikely for MO1 or his henchmen to strike a deal with the FBI or the Department of Justice because the FBI doesn't do 'deals' with kleptocrats. 

"If they (FBI) had wanted to keep it under wrap then we wouldn't have heard anything from the US Attorney General about their extensive international probe.

"It's just a matter of time," states a former intelligence officer.  

The cop turned lawyer says Malaysians should trust the US enforcement agencies to do their job without fear or favour, especially when a crime is committed on their soil. 

It is a test in many ways. We can't do much but to just wait and see the results. 

p/s

Below is a latest example of what the Malaysian Government is capable of doing, if it wanted to. This is apart from threats of bloody riots and ethnic clashes by unruly ruling party leaders. 

"The Government could have easily erased Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s legacy by demolishing the iconic Petronas Twin Towers if it wanted to, said Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak - Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Minister.  

Jho Low is on the run - SARAWAK REPORT

Global Financier Relocates.....

18 Aug 2015

Sarawak Report has now reliably established that the global financier, self-styled philanthropist and international party lover, Malaysia’s Taek Jho Low, has relocated to Taiwan.
The news is likely to provoke considerable dismay amongst the Crystal-drinking Las Vegas nightclub set and trendy Hollywood pals like Leonardo di Caprio.
However, those in the know confirm he has become rooted in the island state and appears to have jettisoned his previous Hong Kong base and hyper-active travel schedules for several weeks.
We also understand that Mr Low’s motivation for curtailing his formerly febrile jet-setting habits and sticking unflinchingly to terra firma these days in Taipei, owes to the republic’s reputation as an extradition blackspot.

US Citizen – two passports!

Paying for the party – Jho Low relies on magnums of Crystal..

In particular, Taiwan is untouched by the jurisdiction of the United States, with which it has not had diplomatic relations since 1979.
This is significant, because Sarawak Report can now definitively reveal that Jho Low has not just one American passport, but two.
The numbers of these passports are A10690483 and A19877008. Neither of course are legal for a Malaysian to possess, owing to the country’s strict citizen laws.
Under US law Jho Low can possess two passports. However, as he is now an American citizen he is also subject to American laws, particularly with respect to money laundering proceeds of corruption through the US financial system.

Wanted – sort of….

Several bodies of investigators from different jurisdictions have recently started to indicate that they would be extremely pleased to talk with Mr Low, as they believe he could help them with their enquiries with respect to a number of lines of investigation into the missing millions from Malaysia’s development fund 1MDB.
Jho Low was the link man for the initial 1MDB PetroSaudi joint venture, for example, which was something he initially sought to adamantly deny.
He was also the link man with Abu Dhabi fund Aabar with which he conducted a number of private deals at the same time that Aabar was doing very well indeed out of its entirely passive role as an advertised parter of 1MDB on several of its big investments.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has signalled its interest in speaking to Mr Low on these matters, as has the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (presently suspended owing to the actions of the Prime Minister).

Safe in Malaysia?

It is believed that discreet enquiries are now also being made by certain US regulators into such matters, who might also be seeking his whereabouts.
On the other hand, of course, Malaysia’s Inspector General of Police has yet to do anything so uncouth as to rush into court and execute an arrest warrant for Mr Low, let alone attempt to place him on Interpol’s Red Alert list for people wanted for enormous crimes, such as the stealing of billions of dollars of public money.
Malaysia’s IGP has restricted such actions merely to outfits like Sarawak Report, who provided the initial details into the missing money and sparked all these pesky investigations, which he and Najib are now doing their best to close down.
In fact, after the recent clamp downs by Najib and the new concept being promoted by his new ministers that the PM and his friends should be considered to be above the law, might not Malaysia turn out to be Jho Low’s safest haven?
Apparently not, in Jho Low’s estimation.
It is understood that the Penang born multi-billionaire feels nervous that the rest of the population might feel less charitable towards him as the evidence of their missing billions escalates, taxes rise and the ringgit plummets.  He seems settled in Taipei.

Off-shore accounts

Of particular concern to Jho Low will be the fate of his off-shore money and foreign accounts.

Brushstroke by Roy Lichtenstein…. worth around a million bucks

His accounts at the BSI Bank in Singapore have already been frozen.  Sarawak Report now understands that a network of accounts in the Island of Guernsey (British Channel Islands) are also now suspended, pending investigation.
The relevant authorities have reported that they believe that the contents of these accounts may represent the proceeds of corruption.
It will plainly be extremely sad and dull for the jet-setting Mr Low to have to clip his wings like this and remain doggedly in Taiwan for the coming future. However, despite such potential financial woes, he appears to have continued spending for his friends and foundations over the past months of scrutiny.
At San Tropez last month his money still flowed sufficiently from afar to supply a fabulously expensive Lichtenstein sculpture for a fancy eco-charity auction run by his fellow philanthropist cum hard party buddy Leonardo Di Caprio.

“Leonardo Dicaprio’s Foundation Gala raised USD40mil that will go towards protecting biodiversity, ocean and forest conservation and mitigating climate change”  explained the publicity (too bad about the Borneo Jungle).

Low has also been pouring money into the UN, which has stood by its right to accept millions from this generous funder of its programmes for training journalists:

” The recently announced partnership with the Jynwel Foundation will help the UN Foundation contribute to what has been called “the biggest communications challenge and opportunity of our generation” – the urgent need to create an environment that will help the world achieve success on the most ambitious anti-poverty agenda in history. The new “global goals” – often referred to as the Sustainable Development Goals — will be the most comprehensive plan in history to fight poverty and create prosperity while protecting the planet. With the support of the Jynwel Foundation and other partners, the UN Foundation will be able to encourage a global discussion around the goals through increased level of media reporting, capacity building and training for journalists” [UN Foundation Spokesman statement to Sarawak Report]

It is ironic that the journalists whom Jho Low’s money will help to train would get short shrift in his native Malaysia, should they dare to tackle such matters as corruption in high places.
It is also of growing concern that this money for “tackling poverty” via the UN’s media programme is currently being investigated in relation to a massive plunder from Malaysia’s own development fund. We have tried warning the UN and indeed other recipients of Jho Low’s largesse, but they have not been listening have they! - SARAWAK REPORT


This latest report is certainly a positive development for Malaysia and our Malaysian authorities who have been hunting high and low for Jho Low. 

Certainly the details provided by SarawakReport could shed greater light into the whereabouts of one of top three guys on Malaysia's current WANTED list pertaining to the ongoing investigation into the multibillion ringgit 1MDB related scandals. 

The other two WANTED individuals are Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil (centre) and Datuk Suboh Mohd Yassin. 

All three are required to assist in providing information on the transfer of funds from a former 1MDB subsidiary – SRC International Sdn Bhd – which is now a unit directly under the Finance Ministry.
(SRC had borrowed RM4 billion from the the public retirement fund Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP) in 2011.)Suboh and Nik Faizal are shareholders of Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd, one of the two companies used as a conduit to transfer accounts from SRC to a private bank account in AmBank.- TheSun

Since the MACC have resumed their investigations, after a minor hiccup following a now suspended police investigations and another revoked transfer order on investigators, the graft busters could now make the necessary legal preparations to extradite Jho Low or dispatch MACC officers to Taiwan to interrogate him. 

By the way, don't we already know where the other two fugitives are? 

It must be emphasised here that there is a need to update the Malaysian public on this particular case on a regular basis due to the sheer size of public funds involved in the scandal plus the fact that there has been obvious attempts to scuttle this investigations. 

To recap SRC International took a massive RM4 billion loan from Retirement Fund Incorporated or Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP) and the loan is guaranteed by the Government of Malaysia. So this is not merely a matter confined to your kitchen cabinet.

Public perception is that there have been repeated attempts to sabotage investigations into SRC because Prime Minister Najib Bin Tun Abdul Razak is directly implicated in the case. Nik Faisal's link to Najib and his role in the scandal cannot possibly be covered even with the biggest of the big leaves.

The suspicious removal of previous Attorney General Tan Sri Gani Patail who was heading a Task Force investigating SRC International and the subsequent disbanding of the Task Force itself have only lend credence to the notion that there is indeed a conspiracy to protect those involved in this financial scandal.

Malaysians, and I'm sure the international community too, are watching this 1MDB scandal and all other related cases very closely. 

The interest in this case is much greater now after news broke out of the RM2.6billion anonymous donation received by Najib Razak. Pundits are predicting that the Malaysian Prime Minister could be making his way into the Guiness Book of World Records under the 'largest donation receipient' category.

1MDB/PetroSaudi/SRC  is certainly not a curi ayam case in some remote village in the interiors of Pekan where you could pay a few dollars more to settle a minor crime.

Naturally those involved in any crime would be very worried, especially now since even the Americans have started their probe into suspected money laundering. The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Police are also into similar investigations, I was told. 

Truth shall prevail. It's just a matter of time.