A number of controversial revelations have been discovered in relation to Jho Low and former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s alleged involvements in the misappropriation of 1MDB funds.
Yesterday (14 March), it was revealed by FBI agent Eric Van Dorn that Jho Low stole US$1.42 billion (RM5.9 billion) from three bond transactions that Goldman Sachs Group Inc arranged for 1MDB.
Van Dorn, who is a forensic account for the FBI, said he reviewed 59,000 bank records to determine where the money from the three 1MDB deals went.
Van Dorn who traced the funds took the stand in the trial of ex-Goldman banker Roger Ng in the Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York.
In addition to his testimony about Jho Low, he also told the jury that Najib reaped US$756 million (RM3.1 billion) of the US$6.5 billion (RM27.3 billion) raised in the bond offerings, while his stepson, Riza Aziz, pocketed US$238 million (RM1 billion).
He also said that Aziz invested at least US$60 million (RM252 million) of his 1MDB money to produce The Wolf of Wall Street.
He said Khadem al-Qubaisi, a former managing director of Abu Dhabi’s state-owned International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC), which guaranteed the 1MDB transactions, received US$472.8 million (RM1.98 billion).
He also described another Abu Dhabi official who worked with IPIC’s subsidiary and received US$76.6 million (RM322 million).
Although prosecutors have long alleged that Jho Low paid bribes to officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi to facilitate the deals, Van Dorn’s testimony was the first time the US detailed how those involved in the 1MDB deals were paid and how much they received.
He also testified that Ng got US$35.1 million (RM147.7 million) from two of the three bond transactions. Ng, the only Goldman banker to go on trial over 1MDB scandal, was charged with conspiring with Jho Low and his former boss Tim Leissner.
Leissner, who pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the government, spent more than a week on the stand as the star prosecution witness against Ng.
Meanwhile, one of Ng’s lawyers, Jacob Kaplan, questioned Van Dorn about how Leissner collected an additional US$39.7 million (RM167 million) which went from Jho Low’s accounts into an entity under the control of Leissner’s ex-wife Judy Chan Leissner, suggesting that the government had also given Leissner a break on these funds.
Van Dorn said it was because his chart was based on certain transactions which occurred during the time frame of the three 1MDB bond transactions and that he’d only included money directly traceable back to Goldman’s funding of the three deals.
What do you think of this? Let us know in the comments.
Also read: M’sians Outraged After Najib Tells Govt to Not Blame The Country’s Finances on 1MDB Debt
