Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (May 19): An opposition lawmaker says the police is dragging its feet in the investigation into the scandal surrounding 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), despite the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) having tabled its report on the April 7.

In a statement late today, DAP's Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara Tony Pua said it has been more than six weeks and the police have yet to call up any key witness identified in the scandal.

According to Pua, he had personally lodged a police report against 1MDB back in March 2015, seeking investigations over the role of former 1MDB CEO Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, businessman Low Taek Jho and other individuals over their involvement in the 1MDB Petrosaudi Ltd investments.

"For example, Shahrol had instructed payments of US$1.03 billion to Good Star Ltd, which Bank Negara Malaysia had informed PAC as being 'a company owned by an individual unrelated to Petrosaudi International Ltd'," he noted.

As such, he questioned why it is taking so long for the police to interview "the 1MDB key-man" after more than a year.

"Now that even the PAC and the Auditor-General have both indicted Shahrol over the gross mismanagement at 1MDB, what else is the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar waiting for?" asked Pua.

Since Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) was renamed as 1MDB in 2009, the strategic development company has accumulated over RM50 billion in debts as at January this year.

"We call upon the Royal Malaysian Police to act with the necessary haste and urgency to ensure that the culprits behind the RM50 billion monster scandal are quickly brought to justice," said Pua.

"The failure by the police to act and the irony of the speed of investigations overseas will only lead Malaysians to conclude that they are doing their utmost best to cover up the (matter)," he added.

Authorities in Malaysia and at least six other nations including the US are reportedly investigating the fund, including the transfer of more than RM2.6 billion into Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s bank accounts. Najib has denied any wrongdoing or taking money for personal gain.

In January, Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali had also cleared Najib of criminal wrongdoing in the RM2.6 billion donation affair, as well as the transfer of RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former 1MDB unit.
 

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