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.
"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.
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.
"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
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.
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.
