‘PM not named in action’
‘NOT DEFENDANT’: Nor is he alleged to have committed any crimes, says A-G
PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was neither named as a defendant nor alleged to have committed any criminal wrongdoing in the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) civil action with regard to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali pointed out that at no point in the civil complaint was the prime minister named as a defendant or had been alleged to have committed any crimes.
He expressed his strong concerns at the insinuations and allegations that were made against the prime minister, relating to the civil action “in rem” filed by the US DOJ. (in rem refers to a legal action directed towards property, rather than toward a particular person).
“The attorney-general notes that a civil action ‘in rem’ has been filed by the US DOJ for the forfeiture of relevant assets and that it is presently a matter within the civil court in the US.
“And, the attorney-general further notes that the basis of the civil action ‘in rem’ to forfeit assets undertaken by the US DOJ relates to the alleged laundering of money misappropriated from 1MDB,” Apandi said yesterday.
He said the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) had yet to receive any request from the US DOJ to obtain any information or evidence.
“However, we would welcome such a request in line with our commitment in international cooperation and collaboration in our fight against money laundering and corrupt practices.”
Apandi also said there was an ongoing investigation conducted by the police concerning matters related to 1MDB.
In this respect, he said, it would be inappropriate to divulge details that might compromise the investigation.
“The attorney-general must emphasise that it is crucial to preserve the integrity of the investigation as the public must not doubt the outcome of the investigation.”
So far, he said, there had been no evidence from any investigation conducted by any law enforcement agencies in various jurisdictions which showed money had been misappropriated from 1MDB.
“And, there have been no criminal charges preferred against any individuals for the offence of misappropriation of funds from 1MDB.”
Apandi also said that he would not hesitate to initiate proceedings against the perpetrators of criminal acts provided there was sufficient evidence to do so.
Meanwhile, in Kuala Lumpur, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said police had nearly completed the first phase of investigations into 1MDB.
The second phase, which would kick off soon, he said, will see officers from the federal police headquarters sent overseas to acquire documents related to the probe and record statements from witnesses who live abroad.
He said investigators had recorded statements from more than 25 witnesses, including former 1MDB chief executive officer Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi.
“The first phase involves processes of analysing documents and taking of statements from witnesses in Malaysia.
“The next step is to send our officers overseas to acquire more documents and record statements from witnesses who are abroad.
“This will take time. Everybody wants us to do a good job, so we have to do it properly (and this) requires time,” he said at the Police Training Centre yesterday.
Khalid said the investigation team was expected to enter the second phase as soon as it tied up all loose ends in the first part of the probe.
He said the team would start its probe overseas after getting the “signal” from the witnesses that they were ready to be interviewed.
“We are not going on a witch-hunt. We must make arrangements for them to get ready before we meet them, record their statements and look into documents and everything.”
On the US DOJ initiating legal proceedings to recover funds allegedly embezzled from 1MDB, Khalid said Malaysian police were not consulted nor informed by the US department on the matter.
“We are not involved in civil matters brought up by anybody. This (the DOJ legal proceedings) is not (a) criminal (matter). We (police) are only concerned with criminal matters.”
Asked whether the police probe would include the prime minister’s stepson Riza Aziz and businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, Khalid said both of them were “within the purview” of investigations.
Questioned whether police were working towards locating Riza and Low, he would only say: “We know what to do... it is our job.”
Khalid also lambasted those who questioned the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on 1MDB after it had been completed, citing the Malay proverb “rumah sudah siap pahat masih berbunyi (The house is finished but the chisel is still making sounds)”.
He said people must remember that the contents of the Auditor General’s report on 1MDB had already been incorporated into the PAC report. Additional reporting by Hariz Mohd