Malaysia freezes bank accounts in graft probe
Print Edition
A task force investigating Malaysia’s troubled state investment fund 1MDB said yesterday it had frozen half a dozen bank accounts following a report that nearly US$700 million had been transferred to an account of Prime Minister Najib Razak.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that investigators probing the debt-laden 1MDB had traced nearly US$700 million to bank accounts they believed belonged to the prime minister. Najib has denied taking any money from 1MDB, and is considering legal action.
The special task force said it had frozen six bank accounts in relation to the allegations, but it did not specify whose accounts they were or the banks involved. The team also took possession of documents related to 17 accounts from two banks to help with the investigations.
Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who was once Najib’s patron and remains highly influential, weighed into the scandal yesterday saying Najib had shamed Malaysia.
“Truly, the one who shamed the country is Najib with his 1MDB. Prior to this, the country has never been insulted by unanswered allegations, unlike now,” Mahathir said in a blog.
Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister has demanded Najib account for the disappearance of billions of dollars borrowed by 1MDB, or resign.
Malaysian opposition lawmakers yesterday accused authorities of blocking a planned meeting in parliament to discuss the allegations against Najib, which threaten to become the biggest political crisis in the country’s history.
About 100 lawmakers, activists and lawyers were prevented from entering a meeting room in parliament, and were left sitting on the steps outside the building in Kuala Lumpur.
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