Thursday, June 22, 2017

DOJ's 1MDB asset seizures in a nutshell: US Govt wants stolen assets returned to Msian citizens to ensure US fin marts not used to launder stolen cash

by Ganesh Sahathevan


All she wants for Christmas? Miranda Kerr received a pair of diamond earrings worth $100K from billionaire James Packer, Woman's Day magazine reports
James Packer has real family wealth,his being 
the 4th generation of that wealth,Yet,his 
$100,000 gift for then girlfriend Miranda Kerr
was nothing compared to the diamond
horde of $10 million she received from
Jho Low.


The US Government,via its embassy in Malaysia had made clear the its 1MDB asset seizures are all about returning stolen goods to the people of Malaysia, pursuant to its Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative (Kari). 

In simple brutal terms; billions have been stolen from the Malaysian people by their leaders and friends, and the US is doing what it can to seize the assets bought with those stolen funds so that the funds are returned to their rightful owner, the people of Malaysia.

The US Government HAS NO CHOICE but to do so, given that the stolen money was used to purchase assets in the US.
In order to protect its own financial system, laws were introduced and must be obeyed to ensure that the likes of PM Najib are never allowed to use the United States' financial system as if it were a giant laundromat.
END 




The United States’ Department of Justice (DOJ) suits related to 1MDB are not aimed at toppling the government of Malaysia, said the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

“No, this is not an attempt to topple Malaysia’s government.

“The goal is to recover the assets and return them for the benefit of the citizens of the affected country,”
an embassy spokesperson told Malaysiakini.

The spokesperson stressed that the DOJ suits were part of an initiative to protect US markets and financial systems from money launderers.
The embassy was responding to Umno information chief Annuar Musa, who claimed on Tuesday that the DOJ suits were a pre-emptive strike ahead of the next general election to change Malaysia’s Muslim-led government.

The DOJ filed the third set of civil forfeiture suits involving 1MDB last week, aiming to seize an additional US$540 million in allegedly ill-gotten assets, which brings the total amount sought to US$1.7 billion.

The action is part of its Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative (Kari), which seeks to repatriate funds stolen from affected countries.

Among others, Thursday’s filings claim that US$620 million allegedly returned by Malaysian Official 1 (MO1) to a “donor” was instead channelled to Penang-born tycoon Jho Low.

Low then allegedly used these funds to purchase, among others, a US$23.7 million pink diamond necklace for MO1’s wife.

While neither MO1 nor his wife were named by the DOJ, Abdul Rahman said the lawsuit had implicated Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s wife Rosmah Mansor.



Abdul Rahman had last year also confirmed that MO1 was Najib.

However, he said the fact that Najib was not named showed the prime minister was not a subject of investigations.

Najib has repeatedly denied abusing public funds for personal gain and attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali has cleared the prime minister of any wrongdoing.

Whereas a law firm representing Rosmah had warned of legal action against those who make unfounded allegations against their client.

Pro-government supporters have accused the opposition of having a hand in the DOJ suits, which the opposition has denied.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/386380

.

Monday, June 19, 2017

Trading in IPIC GMT Notes ought to be suspended-US DOJ confirms 1MDB settlement based on a sham transaction

by Ganesh Sahathevan


The US Department Of Justice has just  filed a further complaint in its ongoing action to recover funds stolen from 1Malaysia Development Bhd, which includes the following statements of fact:


443. The purpose of this unnecessarily complicated funds flow was to create the appearance that fund units in the Brazen Sky Account were being redeemed for cash and being paid forward to 1MDB, thereby fraudulently disguising the fact that the fund units were illiquid and relatively worthless

444. The pattern of fund flows described above was largely repeated with the second tranche of loan proceeds that was sent to Aabar-Seychelles at the end of September 2014. This time, however, the fund flows exhibited one notable difference. As explained below, the majority of the funds that transited through the Brazen Sky Account were returned to Aabar-Seychelles rather than being retained by 1MDB. This allowed the funds to be recycled again and again through the same circle of entities, thereby creating the appearance of multiple “redemptions” using the same pool of money


Despite that, IPIC has managed to find a buyer for the "units" who has agreed to pay USD 2.43 BILLION.As previously reported :

......, Abu Dhabi arranged for an undisclosed entity domiciled in the Seychelles to buy the units from 1MDB at the guaranteed value, to be settled by deferred payments from this month to October 2022, said a senior financial executive familiar with the matter.

The London Stock Exchange ought to have suspended trading in IPIC GMT Notes when the above was first reported in April this year. Now its wilful negligence has been exposed by the US DOJ.
END



Reference 




Friday, April 28, 2017


LCIA IPIC-1MDB consent award further complicated by revelation that IPIC is directly involved in a sham transaction,not disclosed to holders of its debt securities

by Ganesh Sahathevan



According to senior financial and legal executives, the main hurdle was fund units amounting to US$2.43 billion (S$3.4 billion) held by two 1MDB subsidiaries, Brazen Sky and 1MDB Global Investments, that were guaranteed by IPIC subsidiary Aabar Investments PJS. Aabar had disputed the guarantee.
To overcome the hurdle, 1MDB agreed to waive its right to claim from Aabar the US$2.43 billion guarantee. In return, Abu Dhabi arranged for an undisclosed entity domiciled in the Seychelles to buy the units from 1MDB at the guaranteed value, to be settled by deferred payments from this month to October 2022, said a senior financial executive familiar with the matter.

The transaction highlighted above implies that IPIC is  involved in a round robin transaction where it is in effect paying itself. Worse, the transaction will be booked at the guaranteed value , even after the guarantee is waived. This is clearly a sham transaction.
This new Straits Times revelation adds to the issues of illegality that taint the IPIC-1MDB settlement (see story below),and in fact shows IPIC itself to be directly involved in a new transaction in which the implication of money laundering is hard to avoid.
In addition , given IPIC's   reporting obligations to the London Stock Exchange and its own bondholders pursuant to its GMTN debt programme, the ST story shows IPIC to be guilty of concealing material information from the market.
The London Court Of International Arbitration (LCIA) is being asked to hand down a consent award that will encompass this and all the other transactions currently under investigation by the US Department Of Justice and the FBI, who  the Malaysian Government has made no secret they expect will be defeated by the LCIA consent award.
The likelihood that the consent award will be denied to illegality gets ever more likely.
END 

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Rosmah Mansor acquired diamonds paid for with 1MDB money in the US,placing herself within the jurisdiction of US laws against theft

by Ganesh Sahathevan



Sotheby's CATALOGUE NOTE

Accompanied by GIA report no. 2115637296 stating that the diamond is Fancy Intense Pink, Natural Color, VS2 clarity.   Together with a letter from the GIA stating that the diamond has been determined to be type IIa

                                                         
The pink diamond above (GIA report no. 2115637296) was offered for sale at auction by Sotheby's in 2011.Its size.colour, description and GIA report number match that which is described below in the US DOJ's latest 1MDB complaint:

852. On or about September 28, 2013, Schwartz met again with LOW and the wife of MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1 in a hotel suite in the Mandarin Time Warner in New York in order to show them the layout of the necklace that Schwartz had designed. Travel records confirm that the wife of MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1 was in New York City at this time. Travel records show that on September 27, 2013, LOW flew from Las Vegas to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey on his jet. Other passengers on that flight included AZIZ, TAN and McFarland.

854. Schwartz Inc. issued two invoices in connection with the purchase of the 22-CARAT PINK DIAMOND NECKLACE. The first invoice, dated July 3, 2013, was for $23,000,000 for the 22-carat diamond itself. The diamond is described in the invoice as “22.17carat Natural Fancy Intense Pink VS2 clarity (GIA#2115637296) Cut-Cornered Square Modified Brilliant Cut diamond.” The second invoice, dated July 31, 2013, was for $4,300,000 for the accompanying necklace, which was described as “ONE GRADUATE FANCY INTENSE PINK AND OVAL WHITE DIAMOND NECKLACE WITH INTERCHANGEABLE PENDANT TO RING.” 

856. The invoices were ultimately paid using funds traceable to diverted 2013 bond proceeds, and more specifically, to the funds that Tanore sent to MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1 under the guise of investing in SRC International.  

In summary, Rosmah Mansor acquired diamonds paid for with 1MDB money in the US,placing herself within the  jurisdiction of US laws against theft, a crime.
Of course, she could well say that she had no idea the funds used were from 1MDB, and that she was always under the impression that the jewellery was a gift from her husband, PM Najib Razak, aka MO1, out of that money donated by some Saudi royal.
END 

Reference

Why has Najib not summoned the US Ambassador to protest the insinuations of criminal wrongdoing by the PM and his wife ?



Saturday, June 17, 2017

Why has Rosmah Mansor not issued a denial: Silence in the face of the DOJ complaint in sharp contrast with angry denials after 2015 Sarawak Report expose

by Ganesh Sahathevan 

On June 4 2015 the Malay Mail reported


The personal assistant to Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor has rubbished a report alleging that billionaire businessman Low Taek Jho finances the shopping sprees of the prime minister’s wife.
Datuk Rizal Mansor said a recent article on whistleblower site Sarawak Report claiming that Low was funding most of Rosmah’s spending by banking in cash into the account of a Singapore-based designer by the name of Natasha Mirpuri, was baseless and malicious.
“It’s rubbish,” Rizal told Malay Mail Online yesterday when asked about the matter.
“The report is a lie and malicious,” he added.
Rizal, however, confirmed that Mirpuri is among one of Rosmah’s favourite clothing “designers”, but said everything else about the allegations were untrue.
Earlier this week, Sarawak Report, the whistleblower site that has published a series of exposes damning Low and the 1Malaysia Development Berhad, claimed in its report that Mirpuri was Rosmah’s “shopping guru” and that she has helped the “first lady” to “procure multi-million dollar purchases of jewellery and luxury goods”.
....Rizal said the claims were outrageous.
“If the report is right, that she purchases diamonds on a daily basis, Datin Seri can open a diamond shop already.
“In fact in a month, not only can she open a diamond shop, but a diamond mall”.

In contrast,two years later, Rosmah has chosen to not deny these facts disclosed in a complaint filed by the US Department Of Justice: 

346. As discussed in Part VI.CC below, a portion of the $620 million that MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1 “returned” to the Tanore Account was passed through various additional accounts controlled by TAN and LOW and was ultimately used to purchase a 22-carat pink diamond pendant and necklace for the wife of MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1. The necklace was commissioned in July 2013, after the jeweler met with LOW, HUSSEINY, and the wife of MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1 in Monaco. The purchase price of $27,300,000 was paid on or about September 10, 2013, using funds traceable to the $620 million payment from MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1 to Tanore.
A simple "no not mine" or " no not me" or " never received anything like it" would suffice. 
END 
See also 

Why has Najib not summoned the US Ambassador to protest the insinuations of criminal wrongdoing by the PM and his wife ?




Reference

How Jho Low Pays for Rosmah's Shopping Sprees - EXPOSE!

How Jho Low Pays for Rosmah's Shopping Sprees - EXPOSE!

'Fancy' coloured diamonds from New York's Louis Glick are a particular favourite of Rosmah's
‘Fancy’ coloured diamonds from New York’s Louis Glick are a particular favourite of Rosmah’s
Sarawak Report has continued its enquiries into Rosmah Mansor’s financial links with the controversial businessman Jho Low, whose company siphoned nearly USD2 billion from the 1MDB PetroSaudi joint venture in 2009.
Despite earlier denials, Sarawak Report has now accessed documents and emails, which detail how Jho Low has provided payments for millions of dollars worth of diamonds purchased by the Prime Minister’s wife.
Payments were done through Hong Kong, using an account belonging to a Jho Low owned company named Butamba Investments Limited at the British bank RBS Coutts’ branch in Singapore.
The system, according to people who have sold to Rosmah, is generally for Jho Low to pay an intermediary, who then pays the jeweller.
Natasha Mirpuri
Natasha Mirpuri
Previously this intermediary was Deepak Jaikishan, who was once a trusted agent of Mansor’s, but who later went public about his role in silencing a witness in the Altantuya murder case.
Currently, the intermediary is confirmed to be the Singaporean dress designer Natasha Mirpuri, who now works with her husband Haresh Mirpuri as the ‘fixer’ for all Rosmah’s precious gem acquisitions.
The Mirpuris are now familiar faces at the various world jewellery shows and they have created exclusive and profitable links with several international jewellers.
Sarawak Report has viewed numerous emails sent from and to Jho Low relating to such payments, which are notoriously hard for jewellers to get settled.
Haresh Mirpuri - now seen regularly with his wife at jewellery trade fairs
Haresh Mirpuri – now seen regularly with his wife at jewellery trade fairs
In one transfer, hundreds of thousands of dollars can be seen as having been paid directly from Jho Low’s company to a known jeweller to settle several items of diamond jewellery purchased by Rosmah.
Another set of emails and receipts detail how Jho Low’s company paid a total of USD1 million to a Jakarta trader, Deepak Topandasani, towards purchases of ‘Datin’s jewels’.
A further payment also of a million US dollars was directly made to an Asian subsidiary of one of the world’s most exclusive jewellers in New York, Louis Glick.  Again the money came from the same company owned by Low.
Usually, however, traders say it is Mirpuri who controls all transactions and makes payments through Hong Kong.  Jho Low in turn pays Mirpuri.  One one occasion Low told an intermediary:
“She [Rosmah] has to realise it takes time, it’s not so easy to just get the money quickly”.
The system is frustrating and uncertain say traders, who are often made to wait months to be paid for transactions.  One Asia based jeweller told Sarawak Report:
“It can take up to a year to get paid. You get paid in instalments indirectly.  She has the money of course, it’s just she is very controlling and  likes to make people wait, she is a control freak”.
Another, who is based in Europe, confirmed:
“We are waiting [on] their payments more than six months – we sold end August/Septemeber and we are still waiting and it is a big amount. It’s not like you can just phone her up…. they are not buying like before, she was a good customer but she is changing now”.
Given this further evidence gained from jewellers and insiders, Sarawak Report believes it is time Malaysia’s first couple explained their relationship with Jho Low, his role at 1MDB and where the money came from in order to finance these enormously expensive purchases for the PM’s wife?
Mixing business with family friendship.  Jho Low lines up with the Directors of PetroSaudi and Malaysia's 'first family' at the outset of the 1MDB venture
Mixing business with family friendship. Jho Low (left) lines up with the Directors of PetroSaudi and Malaysia’s ‘first family’ at the outset of the 1MDB venture

Butamba Investments Limited

The payments accessed by Sarawak Report show that one company regularly used by Jho Low to pay jewellers providing gems for Rosamah was Butamba Investments Limited.
Rose Trading is the Hong Kong arm of the New York jeweller Louis Glick
One million dollars transferred to Rose Trading, the Hong Kong arm of the New York jeweller Louis Glick
Jewellers say that more often than not Jho Low has funnelled funds more indirectly, through Deepak Jaikishan and Natasha Mirpuri.
However, we have seen a number of receipts paid directly by Butamba Investments, all relating to jewellery purchases by Rosmah, according to related emails. An email related to the above telegraphic transfer record read:
Fwd Payment advice to Rose Trading USD1,000,000
From: Lee Julia (RBS Coutts, SG)
To: jho.low@gmail.com
Dear Mr Low,
Thanks
Julia Lee (attachment)
Separately, an email relating to the below receipt was forwarded from Jho Low and was titled ‘Internal Transfer’ Fvg Deepak USD750,000:
“Hi….please confirm receiving 1 million in total.. Datin is coming to Hong Kong. Do you want to show her more goods?”
Jho Low's company Butamba transferred money to Deepak and Mirpuri to pay jewellers
Not to be confused with Deepak Jaikishan – Jho Low’s company Butamba transferred money to pay these jewellers in Jakarta
Research into Jho Low’s company Wynton Capital by Malaysia’s premier business paper The Edge has already established that Butamba Investments Limited is the investment arm of Wynton Capital and was listed as a shareholder of Iskandar Holdings, the company which acquired a large chunk of controversial land in the Government backed venture that has destroyed much of Malaysia’s remaining mangrove forest and displaced native fishing communities.
Colours attract the magpie spenders
Colours attract the magpie spenders
The payments from Butamba Investments, along with the related emails from Jho and testimony from jewellers and insiders, seal the link between Jho Low and highly expensive purchases of jewellery by the Prime Minister’s wife.
Another email sent to Jho Low and a jeweller, who was  awaiting settlement reads:
“As per conversation with Jho Low he has informed he will do the following.  Your outstanding balance is now US$1,650,000.  Latest by 14th deposit US$750,000 and by end [of the month] deposit US$900,000 (500 +400)..”
Jho Low himself wrote several emails direct to jewellers, which we have seen along the lines of the one quoted below:
From jho.low@gmail.com
cc yewchee.yak@rbscoutts.com
Subject: Wire transfer for jewellery
“I wish to confirm USDxxx,xxx is Ok. You should receive it late tonight or tomorrow” [we have been asked not to state the amount to protect the identities of the transactions]
It is therefore legitimate to ask why millions of dollars in payments went through this company owned by Low in order to fund the purchases of diamonds and other jewels by Rosmah?
Coloured diamonds, favoured by Asia's nouveau riche, is where the money is
Coloured diamonds, favoured by Asia’s nouveau riche, is where the money is

Coutts Bank

Butamba’s Singapore account with RBS Coutts is not the only connection between Jho Low and this private bank, regarded as one of the most exclusive in Britain.
The Chairman of the bank is the son of a former Prime Minister, Earl Hume and its most famous customer is the Queen.
Earl Hume is also Patron of the British Malaysia Society, which seeks to build relationships between the business elites of both countries.
It was Coutts Bank’s Zurich branch in Switzerland, which controversially provided an account for another Jho Low company named Good Star, which accepted a USD700 million payment from 1MDB at very short notice on October 2nd 2009.
Evidence from the PetroSaudi data base, acquired by Sarawak Report and others from their former executive Xavier Justo, shows that PetroSaudi Director Patrick Mahony had lied to 1MDB’s legal team that Good Star belonged to PetroSaudi, when in fact it was controlled by Jho Low.
Large pearl - Rosmah's jewellery has raised eyebrows
Large pearl – Rosmah’s jewellery has raised eyebrows
As Sarawak Report revealed in March, the youthful Low enjoyed an unofficial and secretive but extremely powerful position at 1MDB, as it was understood he was the representative of the Prime Minister and Finance Minister, who it has emerged had himself secretly obtained total authority over all spending and investments, as the sole shareholder and signatory of 1MDB.
Emails show that there was concern expressed by compliance staff at Coutts about who the beneficial owner of Good Star was on the day of the transaction on October 2nd 2009.
Yet, what would normally be regarded as a suspiciously large transaction was nevertheless completed in a matter of a few hours on that day.
The following year some USD530 million was then transferred on from the Good Star account at Coutts Zurich to an account beneficially owed by Jho Low at BSI’s Singapore Branch.
Jho Low’s BSI accounts are now being investigated by the Singapore authorities as part of the wider investigation into the missing billions from 1MDB.

The Mirpuris

A number of insiders have identified this Singapore couple as the key intermediaries for Rosmah’s ‘shopping therapy’.
The fashion designer became part of Rosmah’s entourage around 2006, insiders say, and was extremely ingratiating.  She started to replace Deepak and other intermediaries with retailers for Rosmah and has controlled the ‘First Lady’s’ purchases for the past six years.
Jewellers have complained to Sarawak Report that the situation has disadvantaged them because the Mirpuris demand commission, or they will not make the introduction to this lucrative client.
“The normal commission for white diamonds is about 2-3%, but Rosmah likes “fancy” diamonds [coloured]. Normally, an agent can hope for up to 10% for fancy diamonds, but the Mirpuris are demanding 20-30%”, a business insider told Sarawak Report.
Payments from Jho Low are obtained in dribs and drabs, usually through the Mirpuris.
However, one creditor told Sarawak Report that in one case the balance was settled directly in cash that Jho Low paid into their colleague’s Hong Kong account through Coutts Singapore:
“It was two lots of USD500,000. The bank accepted the cash straight into the account. No inward remittance – untraceable cos cash”.
It has been observed that the Mirpuris, who appear to have no other occupation beyond servicing Rosmah, have become prosperous in recent years.
“All the negotiations are done through them, not Jho Low.  It’s like you can’t go direct to her, because if you do bad things will happen to you and you aren’t going to get paid… They are the people right now between the payment and the jewellers” remarked one.

Shopping ‘therapy’ and Jho Low’s family connection

Rosmah’s propensity to buy large has got out of control in recent years, particularly since she became ‘First Lady’, members of her entourage and sellers have confirmed to Sarawak Report.
“People say Rosmah finds buying her therapy, this is her happiness let it go. But, she went crazy, overboard.. It’s very easy to charge US$20 million for a pink diamond – $20 million, $30 million, $40 million, so it’s not hard to spend” explains one.
However, the system of payments through third parties creates major problems say jewellers.
Most sales take place at her own residence where jewellers fly in from all over the world to hawk their wares.  If the transaction is “small” i.e. less than a million dollars, according to one trader, then the payment is fixed on the spot.
“She has this aluminium cupboard that stretches the entire wall of one room and it is full of cash, all lined up in different denominations and amounts”
However, the larger sums are less easy to settle and can involve several payments over many months.
“There is no up front, no one-time, nothing. Everything is spread out like over 6 months. There is no one-time payment made to one company… there’s always payments made in maybe 5 batches or 6 batches, spread out over the year.  This is why it’s quite open in the industry that a lot of people don’t want to do deals with her because it is very risky.. the margins are very high, but their risk is even higher”
Rosmah is also known to be temperamental, say jewellers.
Purchases of less than a million can be settled at home in cash say jewellers.
Purchases of less than a million can be settled at home in cash say jewellers.
In one case a prominent Malaysian jeweller, who was driven to ask for a delayed payment had all the purchased articles thrown back at him, following which he was expelled from the house – sale cancelled.
Jho Low’s involvement in the process comes from his trusted position as a longstanding family friend, introduced by Rosmah’s son Riza who he met abroad while at school in the UK and then the US.
The Warton business school graduate has boasted in the past how he started his company Wynton Capital while still in college with a “few million” and he was taking a pivotal role as a “trusted advisor, helping the family with their finances” from his twenties say people who know the couple well.
The question remains as to why the couple have so much money for Jho Low to assist in spending and apparently managing?
As numerous observers have pointed out neither inherited money of this magnitude and Najib has been a politician earning an MP’s and ministerial salary since his early twenties – he joined parliament at the age of 23.
Responses on this subject in recent months have ranged from inheritance, to the expected wealth of people in high positions to wealth from a newly acquired son in law.
However, Jho Low’s activities as a prominent investor linked to many of Malaysia’s public projects from a very tender age now clearly deserve explaining.  Why is he paying for Rosmah’s jewels and where did this money come from?

Why has Najib not summoned the US Ambassador to protest the insinuations of criminal wrongdoing by the PM and his wife ?

by Ganesh Sahathevan




These issues are usually dealt with by summoning the US Ambassador:

Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali has hit out at the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) for "insinuations" against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in its latest civil forfeiture suit filing this week.

"We would like to express strong concerns at the insinuations that have been made against the prime minister of criminal wrongdoing."


Worse, the First Lady herself has taken great offence:

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, threatened to sue for “false, malicious publications or postings” on social media, after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled a mystery that has lingered for over a year in the 1MDB scandal.
Readers are reminded that the first “false, malicious publications or postings” on social media was in fact on the DOJ website, in the DOJ's amended statement  of claim.


Najib has really no choice but to summon the US Ambassador and lodge a formal note of protest.

END 

The original Internet posting, from which all others are derived

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 15, 2017

U.S. Seeks to Recover Approximately $540 Million Obtained From Corruption Involving Malaysian Sovereign Wealth Fund

The Justice Department announced today the filing of civil forfeiture complaints seeking the forfeiture and recovery of approximately $540 million in assets associated with an international conspiracy to launder funds misappropriated from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. Combined with civil forfeiture complaints filed in July 2016, seeking more than $1 billion, and civil forfeiture complaints filed last week seeking approximately $100 million in assets, this case represents the largest action brought under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative. Assets now subject to forfeiture in this case total almost $1.7 billion.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco, Acting U.S. Attorney Sandra R. Brown of the Central District of California, Assistant Director Stephen E. Richardson of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Deputy Chief Don Fort of the IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.
According to the complaints, from 2009 through 2015, more than $4.5 billion in funds belonging to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was allegedly misappropriated by high-level officials of 1MDB and their associates. 1MDB was created by the government of Malaysia to promote economic development in Malaysia through global partnerships and foreign direct investment, and its funds were intended to be used for improving the well-being of the Malaysian people. 
“The Criminal Division is steadfast in our efforts to protect the security, safety, and integrity of the American financial system from all manner of abuse, including by kleptocrats seeking to hide their ill-gotten or stolen wealth,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Blanco. “Today’s complaints reveal another chapter of this multi-year, multi-billion-dollar fraud scheme, bringing the total identified stolen proceeds to $4.5 billion. This money financed the lavish lifestyles of the alleged co-conspirators at the expense and detriment of the Malaysian people. We are unwavering in our commitment to ensure the United States is not a safe haven for corrupt individuals and kleptocrats to hide their ill-gotten wealth or money, and that recovered assets be returned to the victims from which they were taken.”
“These cases involve billions of dollars that should have been used to help the people of Malaysia, but instead was used by a small number of individuals to fuel their astonishing greed,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Brown. “The misappropriation of 1MDB funds was accomplished with an extravagant web of lies and bogus transactions that were brought to light by the dedicated attorneys and law enforcement agents who continue to work on this matter. We simply will not allow the United States to be a place where corrupt individuals can expect to hide assets and lavishly spend money that should be used for the benefit of citizens of other nations.”
“Today’s filing serves as a reminder of the important role that the FBI plays in rooting out international corruption. When corrupt foreign officials launder funds through the United States in furtherance of their criminal activity, the FBI works tirelessly to help hold those officials accountable, and recover the misappropriated funds,” said Assistant Director Richardson. “I applaud all my colleagues and our international partners who have worked to help recover an immense amount of funds taken from the Malaysian people, who are the victims of this abhorrent case of kleptocracy.”
“Today’s announcement is the result of untangling a global labyrinth of multi-layered financial transactions allegedly used to divert billions of dollars from the people of Malaysia and fund the co-conspirators’ lavish lifestyles,” said Deputy Chief Fort. “The IRS is proud to partner with other law enforcement agencies and share its world-renowned financial investigative expertise in this complex financial investigation. It’s important for the world to see, that when people use the American financial system for corruption, the IRS will take notice.”
As alleged in the complaints, the members of the conspiracy – which included officials at 1MDB, their relatives and other associates – diverted more than $4.5 billion in 1MDB funds.  Using fraudulent documents and representations, the co-conspirators allegedly laundered the funds through a series of complex transactions and shell companies with bank accounts located in the U.S. and abroad. These transactions allegedly served to conceal the origin, source and ownership of the funds, and ultimately passed through U.S. financial institutions to then be used to acquire and invest in assets located in the U.S. and overseas.
The complaints filed today allege that in 2014, the co-conspirators misappropriated approximately $850 million in 1MDB funds under the guise of repurchasing certain options that had been given in connection with a guarantee of 2012 bonds. As the complaints allege, 1MDB had borrowed a total of $1.225 billion from a syndicate of banks to fund the buy-back of the options. The complaints allege that approximately $850 million was instead diverted to several offshore shell entities. From there, the complaints allege, the funds stolen in 2014, in addition to money stolen in prior years, were used, among other things, to purchase a 300 foot luxury yacht valued at over $260 million, certain movie rights, high-end properties, tens of millions of dollars of jewelry, and artwork. A portion of the diverted loan proceeds were also allegedly used in an elaborate, Ponzi-like scheme to create the false appearance that an earlier 1MDB investment had been profitable. 
As alleged in the earlier complaints, in 2009, 1MDB officials and their associates embezzled approximately $1 billion that was supposed to be invested to exploit energy concessions purportedly owned by a foreign partner. Instead, the funds were transferred through shell companies and were used to acquire a number of assets, as set forth in the complaints. The complaints also allege that the co-conspirators misappropriated close to $1.4 billion in funds raised through the bond offerings in 2012, and more than $1.2 billion following another bond offering in 2013.
The FBI’s International Corruption Squads in New York City and Los Angeles, and the IRS-CI are investigating the case. Deputy Chief Woo S. Lee and Trial Attorneys Kyle R. Freeny and Jonathan Baum of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Kucera and Christen Sproule of the Central District of California are prosecuting the case. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs is providing substantial assistance.
The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative is led by a team of dedicated prosecutors in the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies, and often with U.S. Attorney’s Offices, to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and, where appropriate, to use those recovered asset to benefit the people harmed by these acts of corruption and abuse of office. In 2015, the FBI formed International Corruption Squads across the country to address national and international implications of foreign corruption. Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the U.S. should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to kleptocracy@usdoj.gov(link sends e-mail) (link sends e-mail) or https://tips.fbi.gov/.
A civil forfeiture complaint is merely an allegation that money or property was involved in or represents the proceeds of a crime. These allegations are not proven until a court awards judgment in favor of the U.S.
Press Release Number: 
17-655
Updated June 15, 201


Friday, June 16, 2017

Rosmah Mansor's Choice: Surrender the diamonds, or join Najib in jail-On the other hand, has Rosmah joined Riza in seeking a settlement in exchange for cooperation

by Ganesh Sahathevan

The Department Of Justice's latest statement of claim in the matter of the 1MDB theft includes this section:


346. As discussed in Part VI.CC below, a portion of the $620 million that MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1 “returned” to the Tanore Account was passed through various additional accounts controlled by TAN and LOW and was ultimately used to purchase a 22-carat pink diamond pendant and necklace for the wife of MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1. The necklace was commissioned in July 2013, after the jeweler met with LOW, HUSSEINY, and the wife of MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1 in Monaco. The purchase price of $27,300,000 was paid on or about September 10, 2013, using funds traceable to the $620 million payment from MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1 to Tanore.



The DOJ seeks to seize the 22-carat pink diamond pendant and necklace that was purchased for Rosmah Mansor with money stolen from 1MDB.Rosmah has been given the opportunity to surrender the goods, and in the process admit to the obvious theft.

Of course, she could fight it.

On the other hand, given her son  Riza Aziz's reported negotiations with the DOJ to reach a settlement,the question arises as to whether the details of the jewellery purchases were provided at least in part  by Riza himself, with Rosmah's blessings. It does seem as if Rosmah and son have decided that it is in their best interests to serve-up Najib to the relevant authorities.
END 

References:


Sunday, May 21, 2017


Adding to the evidence provided by Riza Aziz against Mummy ::Rosmah's lawyer Noorhajran did not deny that Rosmah Mansor is a signatory for the Eric Tan/Jho Low BSI accounts

by Ganesh Sahathevan


Rosmah Mansor - victim of malicious fake news disseminated by irresponsible and unscrupulous quarters.


It has been previously reported on this blog that evidence of Rosmah Mansor's is emerging,out of documents filed in the US, as Riza Aziz fights the DOJ to recover assets acquired with funds 
stolen from 1MDB.


These revelations should be read with this earlier article by this article from a related blog,where Rosmah's lawyer did not deny that she was a signatory for the Eric Tan/Jho Low accounts at the former BSI Bank.
Taken together there is evidence of Rosmah's role at the main and subsidiary levels of the 1MDB theft,directing the flow from the original theft,and then managing the funds parked in various subsidiary accounts.

END



JAN
17




 



by Ganesh Sahathevan





From Malaysia Outlook:

The legal firm of Messrs Noorhajran Mohd Noor has been authorised by Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor (hereinafter referred to as the ‘client’) to issue this media statement

This is a general statement issued on behalf of the client to the public pertaining to accusations and falsifications of facts against Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

Attention is drawn to a story carried by bloggers and social media postings recently.

The allegations are those to the innuendoes made that “Rosmah was the one who signed the cheques as Eric Tan”.
This media statement is issued, in relation to above, cross-referenced with the statement of facts made by the Attorney-General of Singapore dated Jan 10, 2017 pertaining to the case of Public Prosecutor v Jens Fred Sturzenegger.

Through the statement of facts issued by the AG’s Chamber of Singapore, there was nothing mentioned in the said statement indicative of the allegations made in the social media of the purported role played by Rosmah Mansor.

These allegations are serious, intended to make representations, publishes imputations intending to harm or knowing or having reasons to believe that such imputations will harm the reputation and done with malicious intent to destroy and reduce credibility of Rosmah Mansor as the wife the Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak.

However , that is not what is alleged by the Sarawak Report story on Eric Tan and Rosmah Mansor, which has been quoted and referred to by others.The relevant parts of the Sarawak Report story state:


Who was the actual signatory on the accounts?

That Tan was actually Low confirms the point made by Sarawak Report that someone who has stolen billions of dollars would be highly unlikely to trust the money in the hands of another.  It was for this reason that it was obvious Low would not have put a genuine associate in control of these vast accounts.
However, Low was not the only player behind this sorry saga and there were others who likewise were anxious for their own assurances.
Sarawak Report has heard through very well-placed sources that there was therefore a check on the use of these accounts, which was that the actual signatory was not Jho nor Eric, but someone else.  That signature was needed to authorise payments.
Sarawak Report has been told that this signatory was a woman with whom Jho Low was closely associated in the matter of 1MDB.  So, when insiders informed us over a year ago that Rosmah Mansor had complained over Jho Low’s spending, exclaiming “It’s my money as well”, perhaps this is what they were referring to?


Put simply, Sarawak Report alleges that Rosmah Mansor's signature was required for any disbursements from the account. Rosmah's lawyer Noorhajran Mohd Noor has not denied that and instead denied forgery. A simple ,somewhat child like attempt to deny something that is not, in an attempt to be seen to be denying the allegation.
END 





Who Was The Signatory On The Eric Tan Account?

Who Was The Signatory On The 

Eric Tan Account?

Last week Sarawak Report connected the dots and concluded that the name of ‘Eric Tan’, the beneficial owner of several 1MDB related bank accounts, appeared to be merely an alias for the master-mind behind the thefts, Jho Low.
Now, the Singapore court has confirmed this suspicion, explaining that the Falcon Bank branch boss, Jans Sturzenegger, had confessed that Jho Low told him he used the identity on certain occasions ‘for security purposes‘. Sturzenegger was sentenced to 28 weeks jail and a fine for initially lying to the authorities and failing to report suspicious transactions, making him the first western banker to be convicted in this affair.
Jans Sturzeneggar 'saw Eric Tan's passport'
Jans Sturzeneggar ‘saw Eric Tan’s passport’
However, Sturzenegger is also reported as having claimed that he knew Eric Tan did actually exist, because he had been provided with a passport and a CV.
Anyone who has opened a bank account will know that somewhat more proof of identity than that is generally required to open an account – most particularly the would-be account holder needs to present themselves at the bank. In fact, Low had just impersonated Tan.
But, this matter now presses most on the Swiss side of the investigation. Sturzenegger, after all, was fairly far down the food chain at Falcon Bank and he was plainly carrying out his bosses’ orders. In particular, the CEO Eduardo Leemann, who first introduced ‘Eric Tan’ to Sturzenegger by email in January of 2012. The Singapore manager had not realised that his correspondent erickimloong.tan@gmail.com was Jho Low until he met him the following month.
The same Swiss bosses then pressured Sturzenegger to pass some $1.2 billion through these 1MDB related accounts, even though he was fearful and suspicious it might be money-laundering. He knew he should have reported the enormous transactions.
Acting casual in Dubai, Eduardo Leemann
Acting casual in Dubai, Eduardo Leemann
A former Goldman Sachs senior executive before moving to Falcon, Leemann has in the past seen fit to lecture that there needs to be far less regulation of banks. We suggest that his conduct makes clear that the exact opposite is the case and the Swiss prosecutors should make him and his colleagues a powerful example.
Criminal proceedings against Falcon were announced in Swizerland on 13th October. Two days earlier the regulator FINMA had recommended charges against two of its former senior executives, which Sarawak Report speculated ought include Leemann.
Meanwhile, the enormous half billion dollar backhanders to the over-all Abu Dhabi Aabar boss, Khadem Al Quabaisi, becomes more explicable – he had put his sovereign wealth fund and its private bank at the disposal of Jho Low to launder money from 1MDB.
What the Singapore authorities need to answer more fully is how their own flagship bank, Standard Chartered also ended up running a bogus Eric Tan account on behalf of Jho Low, laundering hundreds of millions through the so-called Blackstone Asia Real Estate Partners account.?
Why has Standard Chartered, by contrast, got off relatively lightly with a low key investigation and a modest fine – were they not equally culpable of funnelling hundreds of millions through an account run by a front?

Who was the actual signatory on the accounts?

That Tan was actually Low confirms the point made by Sarawak Report that someone who has stolen billions of dollars would be highly unlikely to trust the money in the hands of another.  It was for this reason that it was obvious Low would not have put a genuine associate in control of these vast accounts.
However, Low was not the only player behind this sorry saga and there were others who likewise were anxious for their own assurances.
Sarawak Report has heard through very well-placed sources that there was therefore a check on the use of these accounts, which was that the actual signatory was not Jho nor Eric, but someone else.  That signature was needed to authorise payments.
Sarawak Report has been told that this signatory was a woman with whom Jho Low was closely associated in the matter of 1MDB.  So, when insiders informed us over a year ago that Rosmah Mansor had complained over Jho Low’s spending, exclaiming “It’s my money as well”, perhaps this is what they were referring to?