'Dual national Low bought over US$1b in properties with 1MDB cash'

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Penang-born businessman Jho Low holds a Malaysian passport as well as a passport for the West Indies island of St Kitts and Nevis, breaching the Federal Constitution which does not recognise dual nationality.

This was revealed in the United States Department of Justice’s (DOJ) third lawsuit with regard to 1MDB in order to seize another US$540 million in assets associated with what the department described as an “international conspiracy to launder funds misappropriated from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund".

This brings the total forfeiture claim made by the DOJ in this case to US$1.7 billion.

The DOJ claimed Low had signed a letter bearing the letterhead of his firm Good Star Ltd to facilitate a fund transfer on March 19, 2010.

The signature was “similar to the one Low used on his Malaysian and St Kitts and Nevis passports”, it said.

St Kitts allows foreigners to obtain citizenship in return for real estate investment of at least US$400,000 or a contribution of at least US$250,000 to the state’s sugar industry diversification fund.

More than US$1b in real estate

According to the third filing made yesterday, the DOJ alleged that Low amassed more than US1 billion in real estate using funds diverted from 1MDB. They include:

• A Time Warner penthouse, New York (US$30.55 million);
• The Oriole Mansion, Beverly Hills (US$390.98 million);
• Greene Condominium unit, New York (US$13.8 million);
• L’Ermitage luxury hotel, Beverly Hills (US$44.8 million);
• Hillcrest Road mansion, Beverly Hills (US$17.5 million);
• Park Laurel condominium, New York (US$23.98 million);
• Qentas Townhouse, Belgavria, London (17 million pounds);
• Stratton penthouse and Stratton flat, London (35 million pounds);
• Stratton offices, London (42 million pounds); and
• Interest in Park Lane Hotel, New York via a partnership (total purchase price US$654 million).

Sold homes to Najib's stepson'

The Qentas Townhouse, Hillcrest Road mansion and Park Laurel condominium are notable because the DOJ found the properties were then sold for a profit to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s stepson Riza Aziz.

In 2012, Riza bought the Qentas Townhouse for 6.35 million pounds more than what Low paid two years before.

Similarly for the Park Laurel property, Riza had in 2012 paid Low US$35.5 million, close to 50 percent more than what Low paid in 2010, the DOJ claimed.

The DOJ claimed Low masked where he obtained the money by passing the funds through a complicated web of transactions, sometimes up to several transactions a day for no other discernible reason.

He also represented himself as a "third generation steward" of a large family trust fund.

In more than one instance, the DOJ alleged, he funnelled cash through his father, Larry Low’s bank account to make it appear that the funds came from his family.

The complicated money trail showed in fact, the funds were misappropriated from 1MDB and channelled through bank accounts of firms owned by Low or his associates, it added.

This included through the siphoning of cash via a British Virgin Island entity called Aabar, which bears a similar name with Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC)'s subsidiary but is unrelated to IPIC.

IPIC and 1MDB are in talks over some RM3.5 billion, which 1MDB said it inadvertently transferred to the Aabar in the BVI.

Art for collateral

Sale of prime real estate to Riza was not the only way Low was growing the cash he allegedly siphoned from 1MDB.

The DOJ also filed records of Low using multi-million dollar paintings he purchased at auctions as collateral to obtain a loan.

Email transcripts showed how Low asked around for “relaxed” boutique banks which could extend a loan on the back of the artworks, without asking too many questions.

According to the DOJ, his Cayman Islands firm Triple Eight Ltd obtained a US$107 million loan from Sothesby’s by pledging 17 pieces of art valued up to US$258.3 million.

Sothesby has since sold most of the artwork to recover the amount it loaned to Low, the DOJ said.

The artworks include pieces from Vincent Van Gogh and Monet, as well as several works purchased by the firm of his associate Eric Tan - Tanore - which were “gifted” to Low.

The DOJ said Tanore is the firm which received funds siphoned from 1MDB.

Read more: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/385762#ixzz4k7xo67Vz

DOJ: US$620m returned 'donation' used to buy pink diamond for MO1's wife

Taken from Malaysiakini 16 June 2017

I wonder how any BN supporter can still defend their MO1. GE really can't come soon enough!
I wanted to post this article up for those who do not have access to Mkini.
Please! If you love Malaysia, read this and ask yourself can we allow MO1 to continue to rule Malaysia!

Also do read the other related articles from Malaysiakini here
'Jho Low's award-winning superyacht bought with 1MDB funds'
DOJ: Najib’s stepson bought properties, posters using funds diverted to Aabar BVI  
DOJ: Jho Low spent US$10m on jewellery for Aussie model, mom
Yacht, diamonds and more in DOJ's latest 1MDB filing
'Dual national Low bought over US$1b in properties with 1MDB cash'

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) may have finally shed light on what happened to the US$620 million that “Malaysian Official 1” (MO1) had returned to his "donor".

In a latest civil forfeiture suit filing, the DOJ alleged that at least US$27.3 million was used to buy a 22-carat pink diamond pendant and necklace for “MO1's wife.”

It also indicated that the returned "donation" money was used by Penang born-tycoon Jho Low to purchase a US$750,000 photograph as a gift for actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

MO1 is described by the DOJ as a high- ranking government official.

In response to last year's civil forfeiture suits, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan had confirmed that MO1 was Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Najib however has denied allegations of misappropriating public funds for personal gain while Abdul Rahman said the fact Najib was not named in the DOJ filing showed that the prime minister was not a subject of investigation.

In last year's suits, the DOJ claimed that a total of US$731 million of allegedly misappropriated 1MDB funds had entered the personal accounts of MO1.

This included US$681 million transferred in March 2013, which the DOJ documents quoted the Malaysian attorney-general Mohammed Apandi Ali as saying that it was a personal donation from a member of the Saudi royal family.

The DOJ and Apandi both noted that in August 2013, US$620 million of the funds was returned.

However, the DOJ claimed the money had originated from 1MDB, and was transferred to MO1 from, and later returned to, the Singapore bank account of Tanore Corporation.

Singapore court cases on 1MDB established that the account was controlled by Low.

However, what happened to the returned US$620 million had remained a mystery until the allegations listed in the DOJ's 251-page lawsuit yesterday.

On June 2013, two months before the sum was returned, the DOJ said Low had contacted jeweller Lorraine Schwartz, asking urgently for a diamond necklace with a "18 carrot (sic) pink heart diamond".

The next month, Schwartz travelled to Monaco with a 22-carat pink diamond, to meet Low as well as then Aabar chief executive officer Mohamed Ahmed Badawy Al-Husseiny aboard a yacht.

Also on board the yacht were the wife of MO1, and her friend - dubbed by the DOJ as "Malaysian Friend".

On the yacht, the group purportedly discussed the design of the necklace which would hold the pink diamond.

According to the DOJ, Schwartz's next encounter with MO1's wife was in New York on Sept 28 to show a layout of the necklace's design.

Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor were in New York at the time for the UN general assembly. Najib addressed the assembly on Sept 28.

The DOJ claimed that the finished necklace was later delivered to "Malaysian Friend" in Hong Kong on March 7, 2014, so that it could be delivered to MO1's wife.

It is not clear if or when MO1's wife personally received the necklace.

The DOJ alleged that payment for the US$27.3 million piece of jewellery had originated from the US$620 million MO1 returned to Tanore in August 2013.

On Sept 9, 2013, US$58.85 million from the Tanore account was channelled to another account - Midhurst Trading Limited - which Singapore courts established was opened by Low under the alias of Eric Tan.

The next day, US$32.76 million was transferred from Midhurst to a DBS Singapore bank account for Blackrock, another account held nominally by Tan.

From there, two wire transfers were made to Schwartz's Bank of America accounts totalling US$27.3 million.

The DOJ noted that Low might have used Tan's email to ensure his name was not associated with the diamond's purchase records.

An email from Tan to Schwartz's assistant, had asked for Low's name not to be stated in further emails "as he is just an introducer and not the buyer."

Besides the US$27.3 million pink diamond necklace, the DOJ also accused Low of purchasing 27 different 18-carat gold necklaces and bracelets for MO1's wife, worth a total of US$1.3 million.

The gold necklaces and bracelets were bought using funds allegedly misappropriated from a Deutsche Bank loan meant for a legitimate subsidiary of Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) - but was diverted to a dubious company mimicking IPIC subsidiaries.

Meanwhile, another purchase allegedly made using the US$620 million MO1 had returned, was a photograph by Diane Arbus titled “Boy with the Toy Hand Grenade".

The U$750,000 photograph was purchased with funds allegedly channelled from the Tanore account, to former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International.

The DOJ claimed that on Aug 30, 2013, three days after the US$620 million, a total of US$334 million was sent from Tanore to two overseas investment firms Enterprise Emerging Market Funds (Enterprise) and Cistenique Investment Fund (Cistenique).

Then between Sept 4 and Sept 6, 2013, a total of US$232.9 million was allegedly wired from Enterprise and Cistenique to SRC International.

The DOJ claimed that US$233.4 million was then wired from SRC International to another investment firm - Pacific Harbor Global Growth Fund.

On Sept 10, the DOJ said US$228.7 million was transferred from Pacific Harbor to a shell company nominally controlled by Tan dubbed Affinity Equity.

Then between Oct 28 and Oct 30, 2013, Affinity Equity transferred US$1 million to another account nominally controlled by Tan dubbed the Platinum Global account.

It was from this account that the US$750,000 for the photograph was paid for on Nov 1, 2013.

The DOJ stated that in March 2014, Low gave the photograph to DiCaprio as a gift.

However, what happened to the rest of the US$620 million that MO1 returned is unclear.

The US$681 milllion MO1 had received has become popularly known in Malaysia as the RM2.6 billion donation.

Najib and his supporters have insisted that it was a donation from a Saudi royalty.

Read more: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/385760#ixzz4k7hlFFPJ

From Malaysian Insiders! Wow! We are in deep shit!

Putrajaya in cover-up of obscure firm’s RM30 billion spending, says DAP

Published: 13 November 2014
DAP lawmaker Ong Kian Ming has accused Putrajaya of trying to conceal some RM30 billion worth of spending by a little-known company owned by the Finance Ministry. -

Ong (pic) referred to the Auditor-General's Report 2013, which showed that Pembinaan PFI Sdn Bhd had racked up liabilities of RM27.8 billion as of 2012, making it the 3rd largest liability among government-owned companies after Petronas and Khazanah Nasional.

"However, unlike Petronas or Khazanah, which were the two most profitable government owned companies in 2012, Pembinaan PFI Sdn Bhd does not have its own revenue stream and hence, profit generation capabilities," the Serdang MP said in a statement today.

"According to its company filings, the nature of Pembinaan PFI’s business is to 'source for financing to undertake government projects'.

A report by The Edge had revealed that PFI was set up to disburse RM20 billion worth of spending under the 9th Malaysian Plan (2006-2010) and that contracts under PFI would be preferably given to small-scale Bumiputera contractors.

"Up till today, there has been very little transparency about how exactly this RM20b has been spent and also the terms of the concession agreements between the contractors and the governments for the rental or lease of the buildings constructed under PFI," said Ong.

The third series of the A-G's report this year, Ong noted, had highlighted a second round of funding worth RM10 billion to PFI, of which RM7.57 billion had been set aside for 16 ministries or agencies to carry out 313 projects.

The report showed that as of December 31, 2013, a total of RM4.9 billion was spent from this second tranche of funding.

"According to the company filings of Pembinaan PFI Sdn Bhd, all of its borrowings come from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF)," Ong said.

"What is more worrying is the fact that the government has tried to hide this spending from the budget.

"It set up a convoluted agreement whereby 186 parcels of land owned by the Federal Lands Commissioner was leased to PFI after which the Federal Lands Commissioner was asked to sub-lease this land back from PFI with half yearly payments from 2012 to 2027 totalling RM29.2billion," he added.

He said PFI would then use these payments it got from sub-leasing the land to service the interest payments to EPF.

"This land lease agreement is important because the land ‘owned’ by PFI is listed as part of its assets. This is why the recent A-G’s report also showed PFI to have the third largest asset holdings among all government owned companies, after Petronas and Khazanah.

"In reality, these ‘assets’ are merely land holdings which PFI itself does not really own but were leased from the Federal Lands Commission," he said, adding that Putrajaya should disclose the full list of projects and the cost of each one awarded by PFI to ensure full transparency. – November 13, 2014.

Malaysia needs more heroes like Tony Pua to help expose scandals like this!

Najib's greatest Scandal that will bankrupt Malaysia!??

Auditor Reports makes removal of fuel subsidies insignificant.

The BN govt are really like robbers that rob the rich to give to the poor. The BN govt will burden the poor rakyat with GST and Fuel subsidy removal and the squeezing of those who can't pay back their PTPTN but look at the recent Auditor General Report. So much money lost due to stupidity and corruption. Makes me sick!

1. RM663mil later, schools plagued by slow Internet

AUDIT REPORT After RM663 million of taxpayers’ funds were poured into introducing high speed broadband networks in schools, students have found themselves stuck with a sluggish Internet as the project comes to its conclusion.

Also, according to the Auditor-General's Report 2013, the 1Bestari Net project, which also includes a virtual learning environment (VLE), that cost the bulk of the spending, is also rarely used by teachers and students.

Under the contract, 9,191 schools were to be supplied with a broadband network with a minimum speed of 4Mbps and up to 20Mbps.

A small number of schools, 698 in total, were to be equipped with broadband that has a minimum speed of 2Mbps and up to 4Mbps.

However, an audit of 46 schools found 41 of them or 89.1 percent, only obtained speeds between 0.2Mbps to 3.62 Mbps.

"The broadband speed performance is too slow to support VLE if it involves 30 to 40 users at a time," it said.

In another feedback survey of 491 schools, it found 297 schools (68.9 percent) had a speed below the required 4-10Mbps and another 48 schools (80 percent) were under the required 2-4Mbps speed.

Only 146 (29.4 percent) of schools achieved their required speed.

According to the breakdown of the RM663 million contract granted to YTL Communications Sdn Bhd, a total of RM87.32 million was allocated for broadband with speeds of 4-10Mbps and RM5.29 million for speeds of 2-4Mbps.



A total of RM250.5 million is also allocated for the VLE service and another RM262.81 million is to maintain and management the VLE applications in an online learning platform.

However, the audit report found less than a third of schools used the VLE platform in March this year.

"In the same period, the audit analysis found the usage of VLE based on students', teachers' and parents' logins in schools throughout Malaysia is very low," it said.

According to the report's statistics, during that period, student logins was at 0.17 to 0.63 percent, teachers  at 0.57 to 4.69 percent and parents at 0.01 to 0.03 percent.

2. Medicine worth RM1.2mil stolen from KL Hospital

AUDIT REPORT The Auditor-General’s Report 2013 has revealed that medicine stocks worth RM1.21 million were stolen from Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL).

It also said Penang Hospital (HPP) lost RM240,000 worth of medicine stocks due to theft.

In November 2011, 68 medicine stocks amounting to RM1.21 million were stolen from the stores of the HKL’s neuroscience as well as urology and nephrology pharmacies.

A police report on the incident was lodged on Dec 27, 2011.

Part of the stolen medicine stocks, worth RM740,000, was found in January 2012.

Based on investigation conducted by HKL, the theft was committed by someone from the inside who constantly dealt with the staff of the store and as such, knows the weaknesses in the store management.

The case was decided to be written-off while disciplinary action will only be taken against civil servants after police investigations are completes, the Audit Report noted.  

In December 2013, a Shimadzu control panel was stolen from the radiography room of the diagnostic imagery department of HKL.

The control panel was one of the components of the general x-ray equipment, which is worth RM300,000.

“As the control panel had been stolen, the general x-ray equipment can no longer be used,” the Audit Report states.

It also noted how there were recurring cases of four types of assets, namely air-conditioning compressors, syringe pump, physiologic monitoring system and pulse oxymetres, being lost.

A total of 97 units of these assets, worth RM610,000, were lost.

Based on safety inspection reports prepared by HKL’s security division, the urology and nephrology department as well as the physiotherapy department, outpatient treatment centre, paediatric institute and forensics institute are high risk areas where air conditioning compressors constantly go missing.

As for the theft that occurred in Penang Hospital, 694 medicine stocks worth RM242,125 were stolen in February 2013.

A final report was issued in July 2013 and the hospital is awaiting further action from the relevant authorities.

3. Officer who stole almost RM1mil let off

 AUDIT REPORT A government officer responsible for embezzling close to RM1 million from the Accountant-General’s Department of Malaysia (JANM) was let off without any criminal action, the Auditor-General's Report 2013 states.

The third series of the report tabled in Parliament today says the officer made off with RM995,031 in unclaimed money through falsification of documents, which was only discovered in March 2011.

"Legal action has yet to be taken against an officer who committed fraud and misappropriation between Aug 27, 2008, and Dec 21, 2010, involving RM995,031 in unclaimed money, despite police reports lodged on March 3, 2011, and March 10, 2011," it states.

A report was also lodged with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on March 11, 2011.

JANM is responsible for collecting and overseeing money that has not been claimed in bank accounts for seven years, or funds that are meant to be disbursed to recipients but went unclaimed for more than a year.

The inaction is despite a June 22, 2012, letter from the police Commercial Crime Investigation Department, which said it had recommended to the Attorney-General's Chambers that the officer be charged under Section 477A of the Penal Code.

The section concerns the falsification of accounts and provides punishment of up to seven years' jail, a fine, or both upon conviction.

An investigation committee also found that the officer, a Grade N17 administrative clerk attached with JANM's Trust and Securities Management Division (BPAS), was suspected of being directly responsible for the missing funds.

'Sack' recommendation

The investigation committee recommended that the officer be sacked and a surcharge (fine) be imposed on the suspect for the lost funds.

However, the audit report found the officer was only transferred to the Accounting Development and Management Division, effective Jan 9, 2012.

According to the breakdown, the officer had falsified supporting documents for RM827,781.46 in unclaimed money, which were considered as "improper payment".

Another RM106,955.35 were disbursed to various names, but with to the same bank account number.

Also, RM60,294.50 could not be established as to whether the sum was made of genuine payments.

The entire amount was transferred electronically.

In March 2013, the audit report said the Finance Ministry had agreed to write off the RM995,031.41 lost but ordered that disciplinary action and a surcharge be imposed on the officer.

The audit report attributed the incident took place because BPAS had failed to abide by certain safeguards, such as requiring proper verification of documents.

"AS a result, the government lost almost RM2 million (the missing RM995,031.41 and another RM995,031.41 to write off the loss).

"The officer who committed the fraud and misappropriation should also be imposed a sucharge under Section 18(b) of the Financial Procedure Act 1957," it said.

According to this section, the government can impose a fine on the officer, up to a maximum sum matching the total lost funds.

4. RM12mil pension paid to dead army veterans

he Defence Ministry has continued paying pension to army veterans even after they have died, causing the government to lose almost RM12 million.

According to the Auditor-General's Report 2013, the Veteran Affairs Department (JHEV) had paid out RM11.94 million in pension for 3,786 veterans who had passed away between 2011 and 2013.

Upon realising the mistake, the department had moved to recover the amount but had thus far only managed to get back RM1.69 million or 14.2 percent.

The third series of the audit report, the last for this year, was tabled in Parliament this morning.

"JHEV should continuously conduct checks on the latest status of pension recipients with the National Registration Department (NRD) to avoid payment to pension recipients who have died," said the report.

In its reply dated Sept 22, JHEV said the department had previously relied on the next of kin to inform whether a pension recipient had passed away.

"If there is no official notification, then the pension will continue to be paid," it said.

However, JHEV said it has tasked 13 officers to update the data of some 10,000 recipients and assured that it will be matched with the NRD data.

It added the updating process is expected to be completed by 2015.

The audit report also advised JHEV to come up with a clearer veteran benefit scheme to facilitate applications and to revise its assistance to an amount that matches present cost of living.

This is after a survey of some veterans found that they were living in poverty.

5. MP wants RM93mil Youth Day audit made public

A PAS MP today demanded that the audit conducted on the overall management of the annual Youth Day celebrations in Putrajaya, which he claimed had cost RM93 million the last four years since 2011, be made public.

Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar said the annual cost of the event has been rising steadily, from RM16 million spent for the 2011 Youth Day to RM30 million estimated to have been spent on the 2014 event.

Yesterday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Shahidan Kassim (right) admitted that an audit was done on the overall management of the annual event, which has been hit with controversy.

However, Shahidan said, the details will not be revealed to the public as the Youth and Sports Ministry has decided to take stock of the recommendations in the audit and make the necessary amendments.

"I don't see what the problem is here. In every audit, there is a note, which is a reply by the ministry or the relevant agency. Why can't it be made public?" Mahfuz told reporters in the Parliament lobby.

"In 2011, Parliament set a budget of RM10 million for the event but the final event exceeded the budget. People deserve to know how the money was managed and what are the corrections that the ministry will make," he said.

"Because until now, I had not seen any improvement on how the program is being run," he added.

In the 2012 edition, the presence of K-Pop artists attracted controversy followed by confusion on who footed the artists' RM1.6 million bill.

A drag race accident in the same year also left 17 people injured.

6. Incinerator technology unproven, says PAC

The technology used for the construction of five incinerators across the country costing RM200 million was unproven while the contractor was unqualified and should have never been chosen through direct tender, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said.

In its report on the incinerator project which was highlighted in the 2012 audit report, which was tabled in Parliament today, PAC criticised the Housing and Local Government Ministry for the manner in which it evaluated the qualification of XCN Technology and the technology the company had proposed to use.

PAC chairperson Nur Jazlan Mohamed (left) said that all the four completed incinerators in Langkawi, Pulau Pangkor, Pulau Tioman, and Cameron Highlands are not functioning “according to specifications” and a proposed fifth one in Labuan was aborted.

7. Corruption, animal cruelty plague Zoo Negara

Things have taken for the worse, as alleged corruption and maladministration and terrible animal welfare plagues Zoo Negara, says Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari.

Not only will will visitors be disappointed with the horrible state the animals are in, Zairil said, the zoo has also not seen an experienced zoologist in over a decade.

“I have (also) received information that reports were lodged against the management of the zoo with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), alleging corruption and maladministration,” he said in a statement today.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Paul Low, had confirmed the existence of the reports to a question in Parliament from Zairil, but Low had given a very ambiguous reply.

“According to his (Low) reply dated Nov 4, the MACC has indeed received information on this issue, but that is is “currently being verified,” Zairil said.

In fact, even with continuous government subsidies, with RM10.1 million allocated to Zoo Negara by the federal government last year, the drastic drop in visitor numbers was increasing, he said.

Despite the allocation of RM25 million for the new panda exhibithousing the two pandas, Xing Xing and Liang Liang, visitors continued to decline, with most people complaining about the exorbitant fees imposed.

Around 700,000 visitors a year now

“While the zoo was able to record one million visitors almost 30 years ago, current visitor numbers hover around 600,000 to 700,000 a year, according to its Zoo Negara vice-president Rosly @Rahmat Ahmat Lana.

“Despite continuous support from the government and higher entry fees, why hasn't Zoo Negara improve significantly? It would appear that something is wrong somewhere,” said Zairil, who is DAP national publicity assistant secretary.

He also cited a news report by the news portal The Ant Daily on the harsh and inhumane treatment of the animals housed there.

“With an abundance of wildlife, we should have a national zoo that is capable of reflecting this heritage. It should not only be a mere tourist attraction or wildlife conservatory.

“It is a shame that our national zoo is in such a sorry state when our urban neighbour Singapore is able to boast a zoo that has made it into CNN's 'Top 5 Zoos in the World,” Zairil said.

Zoo Negara was established in 1963 on 110 acres of land in Ulu Klang, Kuala Lumpur. It started out with 89 species of exhibits and has grown to house more than 5,137 specimens from 476 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.

The zoo also currently charges RM10 for children below 12 years of age, with an additional RM10 to see the pandas and RM50 for adults, which include entry and panda viewing fee.

8. Rafizi rues 1MDB's colossal RM42bil debt

PKR's Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli today raised further concerns about 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB)'s financial performance after pointing out that the firm’s debts had now reached RM42 billion, according to its latest financial statement.

"The net loss of RM665 million is such a huge loss considering our economic situation," he said.

"1MDB's financial performance is much worse than initially expected," he added.

He also criticised the company for re-valuing its assets that enables that net loss to seem less than the actual amount.

"In 2013, 1MDB's assets had been revaluated and an increase of RM 2.74 billion was marked as profit. If not for this, 1MDB would have registered a loss of RM 1.96 billion," he said.

"In 2014, 1MDB had revaluated its assets and registered an appreciation value of RM 897 million. If not for this, it would have registered a RM 1.56 billion loss," he added.

He also said that 1MDB's operating expenditure and interest payments had increased to RM 3.76 billion, which is a 52 percent increase from the previous year's financial statement, and almost equivalent to the RM 4 billion allocation for the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) program.

WHILE ALL THIS IS HAPPENING, ALL OUR IDIOT BN MP ARE WORRIED ABOUT IS BEING TOUCH IN THE AIRPORTS!!! DUMBASS!

JB highway the most expensive, says MP

The Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) is the most expensive highway in Malaysia, both in terms of construction cost and toll collection, a DAP MP said today.

Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching said that EDL had cost RM148.15 million per kilometre, and will also end up making most profit at the end of its concession term when compared with other highways.

The EDL, built by Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) will reap RM4.3 billion in toll collection against the cost of RM1.2 billion to build it.

However, Teo said, the Ampang-KL Elevated Highway will only collect RM949 million in toll against a RM751 million cost.

The Guthrie Corridor Expressway will collect RM1.012 billion against a RM501 million cost, she added.

“Highway construction is not a charity and we acknowledge that concessionaire companies are not non-profit organisations. However, there must be a limit to profit reaping,” she said.

“Why does it seem that MRCB is allowed to collect more toll than other concessionaire companies?” she asked.

She said that MRCB will be making the most profit compared to the other highways, without taking into account future traffic volume and toll hikes.

“What was the mechanism used to calculate toll rate and profit for the concessionaire companies? The government must be transparent in handling toll hike and all concession agreements should be made public,” she said.