Yesterday (July 10), the attorney-general (AG) of Switzerland, Michael Lauber met with our very own AG, Tommy Thomas in Putrajaya to discuss the investigations regarding the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
This is because the Swiss authorities have been highly involved in the case, and recently, Lauber came forward and described the 1MDB scandal in an interesting manner.
Source: Malay Mail
According to The Star, he said that Malaysia’s 1MDB fund was used as a Ponzi scheme by a clutch of conspirators to pay bribes and enrich themselves. This happened a few days after former prime minster Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was charged with corruption for his role in the affair.
FYI, a Ponzi scheme is basically a fraudulent act where an organisation offers current investors high and consistent returns by using money taken from new investors.
“We think it was a pretext, it was kind of a Ponzi scheme.”
“It was used for bribery of foreign officials, it was used for paying interest, it was used for motivating new officials to run against the legal requirements or it was just simply to reward them,” Lauber said in an interview without identifying any of the people he was referring to in his comments.
Source: El Nuevo Diario
After the meeting with Thomas, Lauber told reporters yesterday (10 July) that Swiss authorities are currently investigating six people who are allegedly involved in the 1MDB scandal, while two Swiss banks, Falcon Private Bank and BSI SA, remain under suspicion.
Meanwhile, Switzerland has been conducting investigations on how billions of dollars that was meant to be used for economic development through 1MDB made its way into Swiss banks for the personal enrichment of the accused.
Lauber, together with Singaporean and US authorities, were highly critical of Malaysian officials previously for their lack of cooperation, and it was only after Najib was defeated in the 14th general election that the new government was able to reopen investigations into the case.
Source: NST
Earlier in May, Swiss prosecutors revealed that they had opened criminal proceedings into two former officials of PetroSaudi. The US Justice Department alleged in a 2016 seizure order, that 1MDB officials and others had transferred about US$700 million (approx. RM2.8 billion) to an account not associated with PetroSaudi, under the pretense that the investment of about US$1 billion (approx. RM4 billion) was a joint venture between 1MDB and PetroSaudi.
Lawyers for PetroSaudi have denied any wrongdoing, and Najib has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and was released on a RM1 million bail.
Do you agree or disagree with the Swiss AG saying that 1MDB was a Ponzi scheme? Tell us in the comments!
Also read: Jho Low’s Friend Who Was Former Banker May Plead Guilty to 1MDB-Related Charges
