1MALAYSIA Development Bhd (1MDB) and its three subsidiaries recently filed a suit against Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz, the step-son of disgraced former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak, for alleged misappropriation of US$250 mil (RM1.03 bil) in funds to finance movie productions and purchase various real estates.
According to the writ of summons, 1MDB claimed that Riza had received approximately US$250 mil in funds that were misappropriated from the sovereign wealth fund by its officers and their associates in 2011 and 2012.
Billions of dollars were looted from the fund and spent on everything from a yacht to pricey art in a huge fraud that spanned the globe, and allegedly involved Najib and his cronies.
Riza was previously slapped with five counts of money laundering at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court for allegedly receiving illegal proceedings originating from 1MDB.
He was accused of committing the offences by receiving the money through the bank account of Red Granite, the Hollywood production company he co-founded.
However, the money-laundering charges against Riza were dropped after a plea bargain was struck.
He was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal over his five counts of money laundering after he agreed to return US$107.3 mil (RM441.8 mil) – about 43% of the amount he was accused of having laundered from the 1MDB state fund – to the Malaysian government.
The biggest question here is why. Was the US$107 mil such a big deal for the country, so much so that it allowed Riza to avoid a jail term?
This is unacceptable, and could set a precedent in future corruption cases in which thieves who return the stolen money (or a portion of it) would be allowed to walk free.
According to former Attorney-General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas, the US Department of Justice, which had assisted Malaysia in clawing back looted funds, would have returned the money in any event simply due to the fact that it belongs to Malaysia and was stolen from Malaysia anyway.
So why put on so much fanfare and slap Riza with money laundering charges, only to let him walk?
There were also previous speculations that the move was linked to UMNO’s return to power following the political upheaval that came after Barisan Nasional’s defeat in the 14th General Elections (GE14) in 2018, although this was never really proven.
But whatever the reason, the fact that the country had dropped the charges in favour of the US$107 million was a bitter pill to swallow for many Malaysians.
For now, we can only hope that the latest 1MDB lawsuit over the misappropriated funds will provide the right kind of closure this time. – June 16, 2021
