1MDB still mired in multi-billion dollar debt, Pua tells Johari

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PETALING JAYA: There is no truth to Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani’s statement that 1MDB no longer has bank loans, says Tony Pua.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP slammed Johari for making such a claim and listed out the multi-billion dollar debts that the state-owned investment firm has yet to repay.

“The debts include the US$6.5 billion worth of bonds raised by Goldman Sachs, RM5 billion sukuk guaranteed by the Federal Government, RM2.4 billion sukuk via its subsidiary Bandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd and another RM800 million of borrowings from Socso.

“So, how can a Finance Minister with any sense of integrity and accountability claim that 1MDB’s disowned financial statements for the years ending March 2013 and 2014 ‘doesn’t affect 1MDB because 1MDB no longer has bank loans and doesn’t plan to borrow money’?” Pua said in a statement released today.

Johari had been asked about Deloitte Malaysia disavowing the veracity of the 1MDB accounts for 2013 and 2014, which they had audited, as well as the 1MDB Board of Directors response that the financial statements for the two years “should no longer be relied on until allegations made by the United States (US) Department of Justice (DoJ) are determined in court”.

The DAP National Publicity Secretary expressed his shock that such revelations did not set off alarm bells for a minister holding the Finance portfolio.

“The Second Finance Minister appears completely uninterested in the reasons or basis why Deloitte has withdrawn its endorsement for 1MDB’s accounts for 2013 and 2014.

“The DoJ suit has shown that Deloitte has failed to discover that 1MDB had made more than US$3.5 billion of payments over the course of 2012 to 2014 to a fraudulent Aabar Investment PJS Limited, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

“Deloitte found nothing suspicious in 1MDB Global Investment Limited’s US$1.56 billion investment in several dodgy and obscure investment funds, that was said by the US DoJ to have been conduits in the money laundering scam,” Pua said referring to the audits done by the international accounting firm.

He also questioned Johari’s complete disinterest in the missing and embezzled funds, asking “why is there no demand from the Minister for the accounts to be re-audited?

“More so, since the DoJ exposed a multi-billion-dollar misappropriation which had taken place in the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Ministry of Finance?”

Pua also mocked the minister for being confident about winning the US$6.5 billion arbitration case filed by Abu Dhabi’s state-owned International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic).

“His sheer confidence is surprising given the DoJ developments which has clearly shown 1MDB’s various key officials playing an integral role in conspiring to defraud 1MDB.

“Under such circumstances, how is 1MDB going to be able to prove to the London Arbitration Court that 1MDB is an innocent party to the massive fraud?”

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