Corruption is Everywhere and Can Be Deadly in Asia

Pakistan Army expresses anguish over death sentence

handed down to former president Musharraf

Pakistan's army has gone public and expressed its “pain and anguish” after a special court sentenced retired general and ex-president Pervez Musharraf to death. The military press unit said he “can surely never be a traitor.”

“The decision given by special court about General Pervez Musharraf, Retired, has been received with a lot of pain and anguish by [the] rank and file of Pakistan Armed Forces,” it said.

The distinguished military man, “who has served the country for over 40 years, [who] fought wars for the defense of the country, can surely never be a traitor," the statement continued, adding that “[the] Armed Forces of Pakistan expect that justice will be dispensed in line with [the] Constitution of [the] Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”

It appears that Musharraf had been denied his fundamental legal rights in the process, which led to Tuesday’s verdict in the case against him of high treason, the statement, released by the army’s press unit, ISPR, asserts.

The former four-star general and president, who came to power in a bloodless military coup and ruled for almost a decade, stood accused of subverting the Pakistani constitution by declaring a state of emergency in 2007. A special three-member court declared him guilty and sentenced him to capital punishment. Musharraf was absent when the verdict was passed; he may appeal.

He is a divisive figure in Pakistani history. Critics call him a military dictator who may have facilitated the assassination in 2007 of his political opponent, Benazir Bhutto. Supporters see him as a venerable veteran who stood up to foreign and domestic threats and boosted Pakistan’s international profile.

It's interesting that for all the corruption that goes on in Pakistan, including the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, that all they could find him guilty of was declaring a state of emergency. 

The military's extraordinary step of condemning the sentence may be a prelude to another military coup, should the sentence not be reversed upon appeal.

Malaysia's Najib Razak ordered killing of Mongolian model,

says former bodyguard

© Reuters/LIM HUEY TENG Malaysia's former Prime Minister Najib Razak leaves Kuala Lumpur High Court. 

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A Malaysian police officer on death row for the 2006 slaying of a Mongolian model has accused former prime minister Najib Razak of ordering him to kill the woman, according to media reports and the policeman's lawyer.

Azilah Hadri and another police officer, who were serving on Najib's security detail at the time of the murder, were sentenced to death in 2015 for killing 28-year-old Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Najib, who lost a general election last year and is also facing charges of corruption on a massive scale, has denied knowing the woman, but the question of who ordered the killing has never been answered. 

Azilah, in a court filing seeking to set aside his conviction, said Najib had ordered him to "arrest and destroy" Shaariibuu, who the former premier had allegedly described as a foreign spy, news portal Malaysiakini reported on Monday.

"I asked (Najib) what he meant by arrest and destroy the foreign spy, he responded: "Shoot to kill", and indicating it with a 'slit the throat' gesture," Azilah said, according to Malaysiakini.

Azilah's lawyer J. Kuldeep Kumar on Tuesday confirmed the report, but declined to comment further.

Malaysia's Federal Court will hear Azilah's application on April 20.

Najib denied the allegations and accused the Malaysian government of using Azilah to orchestrate a political attack against him.

"I have been told that this new tale will provide a way for the government to arrest and imprison me without bail, as no bail is allowed for murder cases," Najib said on his Facebook page.

Shaariibuu was shot dead and her body was blown up by military grade explosives in a forest near Kuala Lumpur.

Civil society groups have alleged her murder was linked to her role as an interpreter for Abdul Razak Baginda, a former associate of Najib, in Malaysia's purchase of two submarines from French shipbuilding giant DCNS in 2002.

Abdul Razak, who said he had had an affair with Shaariibuu, was acquitted of abetting the murder in 2008.

It should be noted that Razak was president of the ruling party in Pakistan in 2008. 

Sangeet Kaur Deo, a lawyer for Shaaribuu's family, called for a fresh probe into her death in light of Azilah's latest allegations.

"The question was always who was behind it," she told reporters. "That was a question that hopefully will be answered now with the right investigations."

Azilah's co-accused, Sirul Azhar Uma, fled to Australia shortly before his sentence was handed down.
Sirul said last year he would cooperate with any new investigation into the murder if he was given a full pardon. 

Goldman Sachs Faces Criminal Charges in Malaysia for Helping Billions Vanish from State Fund

Corruption is Everywhere - in Malaysia, in Goldman Sachs, apparently

FILE PHOTO: A Goldman Sachs sign at the New York Stock Exchange © Reuters / Lucas Jackson

Malaysia filed criminal charges against Goldman Sachs and two ex-bankers over the multi-billion dollar looting of state fund, 1MDB. The US bank denies the accusation, claiming it was deceived by the previous Malaysian government.

The subsidiaries of the Wall Street banking giant and its former key employees, ex-chairman of Goldman’s South East Asia, Tim Leissner, and ex-managing director, Roger Ng, are accused of giving false statements when helping to arrange bonds for 1MDB, Malaysia’s Attorney General Tommy Thomas announced on Monday.

Malaysia says the accused wanted to misappropriate $2.7 billion from $6.5 billion in bonds, issued by 1MDB and underwritten by Goldman Sachs, in three separate offerings between 2012 and 2013.

Malaysia also filed charges against former employee of 1MDB Jasmine Loo Ai Swan and local financier Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, who maintains his innocence. The prosecution believes the duo conspired with Leissner and Ng to bribe officials in order to procure the selection, involvement and participation of Goldman Sachs in these bond issuances.

Now Kuala Lumpur is seeking to take back the misappropriated $2.7 billion from Goldman Sachs as well as $600 million in fees received by the bank. The prosecution is demanding fines and up to 10 years behind bars for each of the accused. The fines may amount to at least 1 million ringgit ($240,000), according to the charge sheets, seen by Reuters.

Billions of dollars from the Malaysian fund were reportedly used to buy everything from Beverly hills mansions, yachts and a private jet to artworks among other things in a fraud that allegedly involved former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

As Malaysia brought the charges, the bank hit back, claiming that it was the victim of deceptive Malaysian officials. The long-running scandal has already rocked the bank’s shares this year, which dropped more than 30 percent.

“Certain members of the former Malaysian government and 1MDB lied to Goldman Sachs, outside counsel and others about the use of proceeds from these transactions,” Goldman said in a statement cited by media. It added that the charges have no effect on its “ability to conduct our current business globally.”

Analysts warn that the scandal is just the tip of the iceberg of the bank’s “criminal” deeds. Despite being investigated in several countries, including in the US, no matter the crimes, Goldman chiefs will never go to jail as they are too close to both sides of the US political aisle, Jack Rasmus, professor of political economy at St. Mary's College told RT. He also warned that the bank is driving the world to the next financial crisis.

“They just haven’t been caught in the other places,” Rasmus said in an interview to RT. “We’re on the verge of another financial crisis that will make the last one pale in comparison and Goldman Sachs and businesses like them are at the center of the cause of this.”

Malaysian Police Seize $273M in Raid on Former PM's Properties

Corruption is Everywhere - Certainly in Malaysian Politics

By Daniel Uria  

Police in Malaysia seized an estimated $273 million worth of goods in a raid on properties belonging to former Prime Minister Najib Razak. Photo by Ahmad Yusni/EPA

UPI -- Malaysian police seized cash, jewelry, handbags and watches worth an estimated $273 million in a raid on properties belonging to former Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Police commissioner Amar Singh confirmed officials conducted the raids on six properties belonging to Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, as part of an investigation into his 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund.

"I think this is the biggest seizure in Malaysian history," Singh said. "So now you can understand why we couldn't do the counting at the premises itself? Because the numbers were just too huge."

Unbelievable!

Police seized more than 12,000 items including $12.7 million worth of Hermes handbags, $19 million worth of watches from makers such as Rolex, Richard Mille and Chopard, and 274 pairs of designer sunglasses from brands including Cartier, Versace and Dior valued at $19.4 million.

The most expensive single item was a gold and diamond necklace worth $1.6 million.

Police formed eight teams consisting of more than 150 officers and worked for weeks to analyze the items.

Singh said Razak and Mansor will be called to give statements regarding the investigation. Attorney General Tommy Thomas also is studying investigation papers for possible criminal or civil proceedings, after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Najib would be charged with bribery and embezzlement of public funds.

Mahathir is looking to recoup $4.5 billion of funds possibly lost through 1MDB.