A Malaysian parliamentary committee investigating 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) said it would call on financier Low Taek Jho (劉德祖) to assist its probe of the troubled state investment company.
Low is to be asked to help in his capacity as former adviser to the state of Terengganu’s investment fund, Malaysian Public Accounts Committee Chairman Nur Jazlan Mohamed said yesterday, referring to a wealth fund that was later transformed into 1MDB.
The request coincided with a Wall Street Journal report that said Singapore police informed Malaysia’s central bank that transfers totaling US$529 million were made to a bank account in Singapore bearing Low’s name.
1MDB was at the center of a July 3 Wall Street Journal report that said US$700 million might have moved through Malaysian government agencies and state-linked companies before ending up in accounts bearing Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s name.
Multiple probes are under way into the indebted company and a task force raided its offices this week as it examined the money trail.
Efforts to reach Low through his company Jynwel Capital Ltd and his New York representative at public relations firm Edelman were unsuccessful.
Low has not been accused of any wrongdoing during the probe into 1MDB, while Najib has said the allegations against him are political sabotage and part of a smear campaign aimed at removing him from office.
“It’s up to him,” Nur Jazlan told reporters in Kuala Lumpur, when asked if Low is to be compelled to answer questions.
The parliamentary committee wants to discuss some of 1MDB’s investments with Low, Nur Jazlan said.
The 1MDB probe is the biggest test for Najib since he rose to power in 2009, and has weighed on the ringgit and dented investor confidence.
The Malaysian auditor-general on Thursday told lawmakers in the Public Accounts Committee that 1MDB did not hand over all of the requested records related to its finances, while the company said all documents in its possession were submitted to the Malaysian National Audit Department.
Najib ordered the audit of 1MDB in March.
The audit did not find anything suspicious, Nur Jazlan said on Thursday.
The Malaysian central bank sought help from its neighbor to investigate 1MDB and was told by Singaporean police in March that more than US$500 million was deposited between 2011 and 2013 into a Singapore-based account controlled by Low at Swiss bank BSI SA, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing documents from a government probe.
The police declined to discuss the report and Bank Negara Malaysia said it cannot comment on an active investigation. BSI Singapore said the bank will not comment on the matter.
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