The Wall Street Journal’s allegations against Malaysia have been proven to be lies, this time by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s press aide.
Tengku Shariffuddin Tengku Ahmad noted how the publication alleged that Goldman Sachs wired US$3 billion in proceeds of a 1MDB bond issuance to BSI Bank in Singapore, and that some of these funds were later transferred to the prime minister.
However, he said the Monetary Authority of Singapore revealed that no bank in Singapore received the US$3 billion wire transfer from Goldman Sachs in relation to the bond issuance for 1MDB.
“Despite the gravity of their allegations, the WSJ gave no evidence at all to support their claims – as is now standard process in their Malaysia reporting.
“In a cowardly tactic to avoid being sued, the WSJ attributes all its allegations to anonymous sources, such as ‘people familiar with the matter’ and unnamed ‘investigators’,” he added in a media statement.
This spokesman might have done better to wait before barking, given that his own boss has himself issued so little information to explain exactly where 1MDB’s money disappeared to – or how a billion dollars ended up in his own account.
Frankly, such is the lack of transparency over 1MDB, people have been justified in speculating the worst; and when evidence emerged that the worst had indeed occurred this Prime Minister has not dared to test the facts in court.
So, his spokespeople should not try to make hay out of small details, which journalists may have got wrong as they attempt to tease the truth from a massive cover-up, because, as in this case, the truth can turn out to have been even worse than originally reported!
The minor error related to which branch of BSI bank received the $3 billion. It turned out to be the Swiss Headquarters rather than Singapore, which is even more damaging for the bank, which has been trying to contain its involvement in the scandal to its Singapore operations (now closed down).
Najib’s spokesman has compounded matters by further alleging that the reason his boss can’t sue the WSJ is because the WSJ has not revealed its sources, which is ridiculous.
If the WSJ was publishing untruths it would be the easiest thing in the world for Najib to demonstrate this was the case, by bringing the true facts before the courts and issuing proper company accounts.
If he has nothing to hide, why so much hidden?