‘Billion Dollar Whale’ lacks accuracy

Raja Sara Petra 

Tom Wright’s and Bradley Hope’s book, Billion Dollar Whale, appears to be a dramatised version of true events, which is more suitable as a movie script than as an historical account. Looking through the book raises many questions, for example the five as follows: 

Question 1: The book says that media reports and sources the authors spoke to suggest that Jho Low had taken hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars and IF TRUE that would represent one of the greatest financial heists in history.

Does that mean the authors do not have any documentary evidence and cannot confirm 100% the stories are true?

Question 2: The book says that Kevin Morais was murdered because he was investigating 1MDB. But in the Kevin Morais murder trial it says something else. Are the authors saying the Kevin Morais murder trial is a sham trial and the people on trial for his murder are innocent?

Question 3: The book says that Kevin Morais may have given the 1MDB investigation papers to Clare Rewcastle Brown of Sarawak Report, which was why he was murdered on 4th September 2015.

Clare, however, lodged a police report with the London Metro Police that she met someone from MACC in August 2015 and they were followed and photographed in Hyde Park when she met her informer.

On 1st August 2015, it was reported that a former MACC advisor, Tan Sri Datuk Rashpal Singh, was arrested for meeting Clare Brown in London’s Hyde Park. So, the leak was Rashpal and not Kevin Morais, as what was written in the book.

Question 4: The book says, “Then, in two separate transfers, US$681 million moved from Tanore to the prime minister Najib Razak’s secret account.”

Last week, Najib Tun Razak was charged for 21 counts of money-laundering and the charges said NINE and not TWO transfers as what was written in the book? The book also did not mention that Najib returned all the money and that he returned MORE money than what he received. So, technically Najib did not spend a single cent of that money.

Question 5: The book says Andre Xavier Justo met people close to Dr Mahathir who then connected Justo to Clare Brown. So, the book suggests that Mahathir was behind all those Sarawak Report ‘exclusive news’ and revelations. What the book says also suggests if not because of Mahathir then Justo and Clare Brown would never have met. However, the book failed to mention that Mahathir had a personal agenda and was using Justo and Sarawak Report to oust Prime Minister Najib for reasons not connected to 1MDB and that 1MDB was just the excuse.