Dr M: Najib should be investigated

PETALING JAYA: Former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed (pix) said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak should be investigated for lying about the whereabouts of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad's (1MDB) funds.
Dr Mahathir was referring to Najib's reply in Parliament about the 1MDB funds and said any attempts to "cover up" or to hide a mistake involving government affairs, was an offence and should be investigated under the Penal Code.
"It is very saddening when I find I can no longer deviate from the fact that the Prime Minister is lying. With regards 1MDB funds that was earlier said to have been brought back from the Cayman Islands and kept in BSI Bank Singapore, the written answer from the Prime Minister in parliament does not reflect this," Dr Mahathir wrote in his blog chedet.cc today.
Dr Mahathir said the first lie was, there was no cash from 1MDB that was repatriated back, and the second lie was that there were no funds deposited in BSI Bank Singapore.
"This is obvious from the first answer that no cash worth US$1.103 billion (RM3.6 billion) was kept in BSI Bank, but only documents.
"What the documents are is not clear, but what is clear is that it was not cash."
In a parliamentary written reply to Tony Pua (DAP-Petaling Jaya Utara), the Finance Ministry said: "1MDB has explained that the balance investment funds that have been redeemed are in the form of assets in US currency in a bank in Singapore to balance its denominated liability.
"The bank is the custodian for 1MDB's assets," the ministry said.
It also stated that the ministry is amending its answers to Pua in March stating that the Cayman Islands investment funds were redeemed in the form of cash and still kept in BSI Bank in US currency.
BSI Bank had denied issuing documents supplied by 1MDB relating to the accounts for 1MDB subsidiary Brazen Sky Limited.
"This shows the answer from Najib is not true. BSI Bank has since reported the matter to the Monetary Authority of Singapore that there are no 1MDB funds deposited in the bank," Dr M added.
"Normally MAS would have reported this matter to Bank Negara Malaysia."
He concluded that it is clear the funds that the Prime Minister, government officials, Bank Negara and 1MDB say has been repatriated back from the Cayman Islands and kept in Singapore, is not true.
"The amendment to the first parliamentary answer, that it wasn't funds that were brought back but documents, is all false.
"Those who made this false statement have contravened Section 218. Something serious is happening. Money owed by a government-owned company, of which RM7 billion is guaranteed by the government, can no longer be traced and attempts are made to lie to the Parliament and the country.
"There is an element of crime in this case, which needs the police to investigate, and if the money cannot be found, then legal action has to be taken against the relevant parties," he said.