Najib quizzed over scandal, graft fighter reveals threats

PUTRAJAYA: Former Malaysian leader Najib Razak was questioned by anti-corruption authorities Tuesday after his shock election loss, as the top graft fighter revealed he faced threats and a bullet in the post when the old regime suppressed a probe into a massive financial scandal.

The ousted leader pushed through a huge media scrum as he arrived at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in the administrative capital of Putrajaya to be quizzed about 1MDB money allegedly ending up in his personal bank accounts.

He left after about five hours looking exhausted, and told waiting reporters that officials had “acted professionally” as they took his statement. The questioning is due to continue Thursday.

He recounted how witnesses were intimidated, authorities tried to push him into early retirement, and that he even received a bullet in the post. Shukri said the harassment reached a “very frightening” level and at one point he briefly fled to the United States as he feared arrest. “Our witnesses were abducted. Some of them were questioned by others as to what they revealed to us,” he said.

“I received a bullet at my home,” he added. “I did not even tell my wife and my family, I did not lodge a police report.” As pressure mounted, Shukri decided to retire in 2016. Najib was summoned by the anti-corruption body to give a statement over SRC International, an energy company that was originally a subsidiary of 1MDB.

According to an investigation by the Wall Street Journal, 42 million ringgit ($10.6 million) originating from SRC was transferred to Najib’s personal bank accounts. It is just one small part in the graft scandal, which is being investigated in several countries.

Ousted Malaysian government accused of covering up scandal at state fund: The government of ousted Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak deceived parliament over the finances of state fund 1MDB and suppressed an investigation by intimidating and purging anti-corruption agents, officials said on Tuesday.

“It is clear that the previous government has conducted an exercise of deception to the public about certain hot-button items, especially 1MDB, and even misrepresented the financial situation to parliament,” new Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said in a statement.

Lim said he had discovered that Malaysia has been “bailing out” 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) debt obligations since April 2017, but the true financial situation was still unclear because officials were unable to access certain “red files”.

The bailout had cost 6.98 billion ringgit ($1.8 billion) so far, but more payments of 954 million ringgit would fall due by November, and from 2022 Malaysia would be required to make further payments running into billions of ringgit, Lim said.

Earlier, the head of the Southeast Asian country’s anti-graft agency gave an explosive account of how witnesses disappeared and officers were purged and intimidated after they tried in 2015 to charge Najib for siphoning funds from 1MDB.