FIRST CIVIL SERVANT TO BE CHARGED
Ex-Treasury sec-gen is expected to present himself to MACC today
FORMER Treasury sec-gen Tan Sri Irwan Serigar Abdullah is expected to be charged on Thursday over debt payments to IPIC. His former boss Najib Razak is also expected to be in the same dock alleged CBT over the same issu
PAC TO CONVENE FRESH PROBE ON MONDAY, FORMER AUDITOR GENERAL AMBRIN BUANG IS FIRST WITNESS
AN ‘INSIDER’ DATUK WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN HELPING TO TIE UP LOOSE ENDS IN THE PROBE Meanwhile, it is learnt that prosecutors are ready to charge former MEIO chief Datuk Hasanah Abdul Hamid with abuse of power and using her office position for personal gratification, also on Thursday.
FORMER Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah is looking to be the first civil servant to face criminal charges over the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.
Irwan is expected to present himself at the Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in Putrajaya about 2pm today to answer more questions about 1MDB’s dealings with International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC), in particular, the circumstances surrounding the Treasury authorisation of debt payments by the former to the latter.
It is understood that Irwan, who is expected to be arrested by the commission today, has had several sessions with MACC in recent weeks pertaining to the case, although this had gone unreported.
He is expected to formally answer charges against him with regard to the case tomorrow.
The commission is also calling in his former boss, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also former prime minister, to answer some questions today.
Najib, who has been in and out of the commission’s office, is not expected to be arrested.
Sources said Najib, however, is likely to be slapped with several charges with regard to the 1MDBIPIC case when prosecutors level them against him most likely tomorrow, along with Irwan.
It is understood that an “insider” Datuk was instrumental in helping investigators tie up loose ends in the 1MDB-IPIC probe.
It is understood that prosecutors would hold Najib liable for his role in last year’s dispute settlement between 1MDB and the Abu Dhabi wealth fund, over a missing sum of US$3.5 billion that the former said was paid to a unit of IPIC, Aabar Investments, between 2012 and 2014.
This is traced to 1MDB’s defaulted bond payment in 2016 that was guaranteed by IPIC in 2012 for the acquisition of two power plants.
1MDB’s position is that the US$3.5 billion was “legitimately” paid and that this obliged IPIC and Aabar to fulfil its obligations as a co-guarantor for the bonds, although they denied receiving the money.
On April 24 last year, Putrajaya entered into a settlement agreement with IPIC, where it agreed to pay back US$1.2 billion it owed to IPIC, with the Finance Ministry giving an undertaking that 1MDB would fulfil all future payments of interest and principal sums related to the bonds.
The payment is said to have been done without the sanction of the previous cabinet.
Najib was chairman of 1MDB’s board of advisers until it was dissolved in May 2016 when the Finance Ministry, where he was minister, took over its remaining assets.
The New Straits Times, on its front page yesterday, reported that Najib was expected to be levelled with no less than four charges of criminal breach of trust. Today would be the third time Najib is called in by MACC, with the first and second being on Oct 16 and 18.
Najib is facing 32 charges linked to missing funds traced to the state fund he founded.
Najib, in Parliament yesterday, said he was “determined to resolve this personal chapter well”.
Najib, who is Pekan member of parliament, said “he hoped that all monies linked to the 1MDB issue would be returned to Malaysia, and that the matter must not be politicised”.
He said he had sought to recover the monies even after the coalition he led lost federal power in the 14th General Election.
“I definitely wished to do this (recover the 1MDB monies) after the election. We have a settlement agreement with them... and that is until 2020,” he said.
“We made an agreement in 2015. In that agreement, we received US$1 billion from IPIC and they agreed to repay us US$3.5 billion.
“...we will get back US$6 billion. This is the resolution. I hope the Pakatan Harapan government will continue this as we want to get back all the money,” Najib said, adding that he had also reached out to the Abu Dhabi crown prince on the matter.
He also made a call in the august house for investigators to interview parties involved in the matter, including IPIC.
The NST was also made to understand that prosecutors are ready to charge Datuk Hasanah Abdul Hamid, the former director-general of the Malaysian External Intelligence Organisation, which the commission investigated in August for abuse of power and using office position for personal gratification.
She is also expected to hear the charges levelled against her from the dock on Thursday.