Who is Samuel Goh, Tawfiq Ayman’s partner in the latest 1MDB saga?

(FMT) – Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi has questioned the role of former Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz in the 1MDB scandal.

This comes after the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) recently revealed that some RM65 million in 1MDB funds were returned from Cutting Edge Industries Ltd, a company in Singapore controlled by Zeti’s husband, Tawfiq Ayman, and his partner, Samuel Goh.

In a Facebook post today, Puad also shed some light on Goh and his ties to the 1MDB scandal.

He said Goh had admitted in a 2016 trial in Singapore, that he had assisted former BSI banker Yeo Jiawei in setting up fake bank accounts, including one for Aabar Investment PJS Ltd (BVI), for a fee of US$4 million.

“This is the fake account that received the payment from 1MDB. The authentic account was Aabar Investment PJS. 1MDB’s former CEO (Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman) had previously testified that he did not check the authenticity of the bank account because he trusted Jho Low,” Puad said.

Yeo, who siphoned funds from BSI clients which included Brazen Sky, a subsidiary of 1MDB was sentenced to 54-months imprisonment in 2017 for money laundering and cheating.

Puad also questioned BNM’s decision then to approve the transfer of 1MDB funds overseas without checking the authenticity of the recipient bank account.

“Any transaction of funds overseas requires the approval of the central bank. Who was the central bank chief back then? Why did Jho Low make Tawfiq his partner?

“We need a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to look into this matter,” he said.

Yesterday, Puad asked why Zeti and former minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop were not made witnesses in the 2019 1MDB trial despite assisting in MACC’s investigations.