Malaysian Prime Minister Spent Lavishly From Accounts He Says Weren't 'Personal'
Bank documents show $15 million worth of luxury good purchases.
For months now, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has
denied allegations that he received millions of dollars from a
government investment fund he set up in 2009.
None of the money in his private bank accounts that are in question
went toward personal expenses, Najib has said. The $681 million that
entered Najib’s accounts in 2013—which authorities speculate came from
the government fund named 1Malaysia Development Bhd. or 1MDB—was simply a
political donation from the Saudi royal family, Malaysia’s attorney
general determined in January.
But it turns out Najib spent lavishly from those bank accounts—some
$15 million on clothes, jewelry, and a car, according to bank transfer
information reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Included in those purchases was a $130,625 transaction at a Chanel
store in Honolulu that was charged to a credit card linked to one of the
accounts under investigation. It went through two days before the prime
minister golfed with President Barack Obama in a meeting seen as
helping solidify Malaysia’s more prominent role in world affairs.
The bank transfer information is noteworthy because it reveals the
full picture of Najib’s accounts—which investigators say contain money
from 1MDB—and it discredits Najib’s past claims that the money in
question wasn’t used for personal purchases. It shows, for instance,
that the credit card Najib used in Hawaii was connected to an account
that received money from SRC International, a company that was run by
1MDB but was later transferred to the finance ministry.
The Journal reports that five accounts belonging to Najib at Malaysian bank AmBank received $1 billion from 2011 to 2015.
Najib’s accounts factor into a larger investigation into possible
misappropriate from 1MDB, which raised $11 billion in debt, some of
which came from global investors. The probe has ensnared Goldman Sachs,
which handled bond sales for the investment fund and in exchange
received above-average commissions. A banker connected to those deals,
Tim Leissner, who was once the chairman of Goldman’s operation in
Southeast Asia and is husband to former U.S. model and designer Kimora
Lee Simmons, resigned from the firm in January and was subpoenaed by U.S. authorities in February.
Ross Chow I had trouble swallowing today (after reading...). wow.
Kelohan Rakyat....
Mohd Yusoff Ramli USD130k....must
be expensive items...the rakyat at most spent max rm150 at Tescos for
daily needs...fishes are getting expensive here...rakyat staple fish
kembong now at rm18 per kg...those day max rm8....gelama...now at
rm12...before rm6 max...high fi fishes like tenggeri or stg jgn kira...
· Ross Chow I had trouble swallowing today (after reading...). wow.
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