Taib denies Swiss bank account claims

(The Star) – KUCHING: Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud has denied allegations by the Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) that the Swiss government is investigating his assets held in Swiss banks.

Taib said he had no secret Swiss bank account nor any assets or investments of any description in Switzerland.

He said he wrote to Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Ray last month asking her to confirm if she had ordered an investigation by the Swiss Financial Marketing Supervisory Authority as alleged by BMF and to furnish him with a copy of the allegation so that he can seek appropriate legal redress.

“I also pledged to render my fullest cooperation to the Swiss federation to swiftly bring the truth to light so as to nail all malicious reports,” he told the Sarawak Legislative Assembly when making a personal explanation on the allegation Wednesday morning.

The BMF had alleged on its website that the Swiss Financial Marketing Supervisory Authority agreed to investigate Taib’s alleged assets in Swiss banks.

Taib added that the allegations by BMF were “utterly false and evidently politically motivated”.

He said BMF had a track record of making “scurrilous and scandalous” allegations against the state government.

“Therefore BMF’s false allegations about assets held in Switzerland by me are a continuation of their malicious efforts to smear the state, the Government and the leaders,” he said.