Zeti and hubby under probe
(The Star) – Former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz and former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop are being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds, says a report.
Police were also investigating Zeti’s husband Datuk Tawfiq Ayman over allegations that he received funds related to 1MDB, Mingguan Malaysia reported yesterday, quoting a source.
“The case has been completed with proposed charges under Section 4 (1) (a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Prevention of Financing of Terrorism and Proceeds from Illegal Activities Act 2001 to be filed in the near future,” the source told the newspaper.
The source reportedly added that the agency’s investigation focused more on the receipt of money into Tawfiq’s account in Singapore after RM5bil was raised by 1MDB in 2009 via the Ambank Group.
According to the report, the matter was exposed when the MACC sought to recover 1MDB’s assets locally and from abroad, involving several “big names” associated with the sovereign wealth fund.
“Among the 1MDB’s assets abroad are those in Switzerland, Kuwait, Mauritius, Cyprus and Hong Kong, which are worth RM20.5bil,” said the report.
“These individuals were identified when the Commercial Affairs Department of Singapore on Nov 12 returned the money belonging to the former CEO of SRC International Sdn Bhd, Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, to the Malaysian government through the Asset Recovery Trust Account of the Finance Ministry worth RM3,617,513.91 (US$864,813.27),” it added.
The Malay paper noted that earlier, Singapore had returned assets amounting to RM64.42mil (US$15.4mil) involving the Cutting Edge Industries Ltd account owned by Tawfiq and his business partner Samuel Goh.
On the investigation on Zeti and Nor Mohamed, the source told Mingguan Malaysia that the MACC was investigating allegations of misconduct, with the report noting that every investment involving 1MDB funds at that time was definitely done with Nor Mohamed’s knowledge.
The source also said the MACC was investigating them under the MACC Act 2009 and the Money Laundering Act 2001.
The paper added that when contacted, MACC Money Laundering Division director Mohammad Zamri Zainul Abidin confirmed receiving a complaint from a non-governmental organisation on Dec 22 urging an investigation be carried out on Zeti and Nor Mohamed.
Zamri also confirmed that the MACC had received a report by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in October last year against former Goldman Sachs senior manager Tim Leissner, and this was being investigated too.
