(Sept 23): Police are questioning the credibility of a The New York Times report that a United States grand jury had been set up to investigate allegations of corruption involving Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and a number of individuals close to him.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Noor Rashid Ibrahim said this was because until today, no foreign authority had approached the Malaysian police on the alleged investigations.

He said if the report were true, that a US grand jury had begun investigations, Malaysian police would have been contacted.

“I am not sure if that report is true... I do not know if there is an investigation.

“What I do know is, foreign authorities have not sought out police here. If there were a probe, then definitely they would have contacted police here, so it is difficult for me to comment further,” he told reporters at a function at the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur, today.

The NYT had reported yesterday that a US grand jury was the latest authority to probe into Najib over properties purchased there by his stepson, Riza Aziz, and businessman Low Taek Jho.

A unit in the US Justice Department, which handled international corruption, was conducting the inquiry, NYT quoted anonymous sources as saying. The inquiry is focused on real estate purchases in the US in recent years by shell companies.

NYT had reported in February about these purchases using shell companies by various international figures, including Riza and Low, also known as Jho Low.

It had reported that the corruption inquiry would also look into the US$681 million allegedly deposited into Najib’s personal accounts, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal and later confirmed by Malaysian anti-graft authorities as a political donation.

The fund transfer comes under American jurisdiction because it went through Wells Fargo, the paper added.

In its February report, NYT said more than RM150 million in real estate were traced back to either Low or Riza.

Representatives for Riza and Low, however, told the paper that they had not been involved in any inappropriate business dealings.

NYT said Najib was preparing to leave for London this week for a trade convention and would be expected in New York after that for the United Nations General Assembly. – The Malaysian Insider