FINAL UPDATE WITH MALAYSIA-TODAY INTERVIEW INCLUDED Malaysian private investigator P Balasubramaniam spent three hours huddled with the French police on Monday and during the long question-and-answer session, the names Najib, Rosmah, Baginda, ASP Suresh, Deepak and Dinesh cropped up several times.
“There were also some new names that Bala mentioned. I am not sure if he will reveal those when he issues a statement to the press. But because of the huge public interest, most likely his lawyers will issue the statement later tonight or tomorrow,” a source close to the investigation told Malaysia Chronicle.
The names mentioned refer to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, his wife Rosmah Mansor, their friend Razak Baginda, police officer ASP Suresh, businessman Deepak Jaikishan and his brother Dinesh.
The Malaysian leader has been accused of taking a kickback worth 114 million euros or RM570 million from French defense giant DCNS over the purchase of two Scorpene submarines he sanctioned when he was defense minister in 2002.
Najib has denied the allegations but he did benefit a company controlled by Baginda with a co-ordination and support services contract worth RM570 million.
ASP Suresh is a police officer whom Bala has known for a long time, while Deepak is a friend of Rosmah’s. When he emerged after more than a year in hiding in late 2009, Bala had said ASP Suresh and Deepak were the ones who introduced him to Najib’s brother Nazim Razak.
The meeting took place hours after Bala had made a sensational statutory declaration that incriminated Najib, Rosmah, Baginda in the submarines deal as well as in the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu, who was trying to blackmail Baginda for her US$500,000 share of commission.
“The French police wanted to know what happened to Bala after he disappeared. They wanted to know why he ran off and who asked him to leave Malaysia. They wanted to see documentary proof of the payments he said he received from Deepak,” said the source.
RM5 million to leave Malaysia
Indeed, Bala had revealed in November 2009 that Nazim had met him at a Volkswagon showroom in The Curve shopping mall in Selangor state on July 3, 2008. Nazim’s pregnant wife was also present, he had recounted.
According to Bala, Nazim offered him RM5 million to reverse his statutory declaration, leave Malaysia immediately and to keep silent on the case. Bala also said Rosmah was very pleased that he had agreed to retract the statutory declaration and wanted to have breakfast with him.
So far, Bala says he has received RM750,000 and has also kept several bank-in slips showing transfers of around RM50,000 each time.
A former Special Branch detective, Bala's life has been turned upside down by the Altantuya murder and Scropene graft case. Last week, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission swerved at the 11th hour from recording his statement even though they had agreed to do so at a London venue, where Bala had promised to do his best to help in investigations.
Despite the MACC's suspicious behavior, Bala proceeded to Paris, where he was interviewed by the French police at the Direction Centrale de la Police in Nanterre Prefecture. The French authorities are probing possible corruption by DCNS and certain of their own politicians. Naval arms-maker DCNS has a notorious record of bribing its way into huge deals.
Malaysian civil rights group SUARAM also gave impetus to the French probe when it lodged a complaint in Paris on behalf of Malaysian taxpayers earlier this year. SUARAM director Cynthia Gabriel has said they were forced into action after Najib refused to initiate any probe into the widespread allegations of corruption.
The Nazim factor
So far, the two submarines have set back national coffers by RM6.7 billion and although Najib insists the RM570 million contract he granted to Baginda was not a form of commission, Baginda's firm - Perimekar - has no previous record of any knowledge of submarines technology.
Intertwined into the submarines acquisition is the gruesome murder of the beautiful 28-year old Altantuya, who was shot in the head and her body blown up with C4 explosives to prevent identification. Two former bodyguards of Najib's and Rosmah's have been sentenced to hang for the murder but speculation remains rife that there were masterminds involved and they are still at large.
But it was the latest revelation of the involvement of Nazim, Najib's younger architect brother, that forced the Malaysian authorities into a fresh show of action after submerging the case following Bala's 'disappearance'.
Challenged in Parliament to take action, the MACC vowed to get to the bottom of the complex case and sought an interview with Bala. But the commission - which falls under the direct purview of the Prime Minister - startled the nation and other foreign observers when it backed off at the last minute.
"It really speaks badly about law and order in Malaysia. If the national anti-graft commission can withdraw from such an important and high-profile case, surely they must have received instructions from the highest authority, and sadly, all the indicators point to Najib himself," Tian told Malaysia Chronicle.
Malaysia Chronicle appends below Part 5 of an interview Bala gave to Malaysia Today in November 2009:
PI Bala Part 5: ” I was told Rosmah was happy with my retraction”
In the fifth and final part of the mystery interview with private eye P Balasubramaniam published in Malaysia Today, he tells that prime minister’s wife Rosmah Mansor was “very happy” with him for retracting his first statutory declaration which implicated her and Najib Razak in Altantuya’s murder.
He added that Rosmah had wanted to have breakfast with him. Balasubramaniam, a central figure in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case, also revealed that he had met Najib’s younger brother Nazim the night before signing the second declaration which exonerated Najib and Rosmah.
He added that he was only paid RM750,000 of the promised RM5 million for the retraction.
Below are excerpts from the interview.
How long had you known ASP Suresh before this incident?
I have known him for about 10 years. I met him when he was a senior investigation officer at the IPK Kuala Lumpur. I was a private investigator then.
ASP Suresh used to ask me to assist him in obtaining fast traces and details on mobile phones as I had contacts in the phone companies and was able to get the information required faster than the police who had to go through official channels.
At one stage, I was working for ASP Suresh as a bouncer at his pub in Jalan Imbi. He had been suspended from his duties as a police officer sometime in 2006 as he was being investigated for corruption by the ACA.
Had you met Deepak before this incident?
No. But I had done some PI work for his brother Dinesh in the past. I knew Deepak was Dinesh’s brother.
You have said that you met a Malay VIP Datuk outside the Volkswagen showroom at The Curve on the night of July 3rd 2008. Who was this gentleman?
He was Datuk Nazim Razak, the younger brother of Najib. He was there with his pregnant wife. Although I did not speak to her, I recognised her as being a TV personality. I think she was the host on the ‘Nona’ programme. Deepak was the one who brought them there to meet me. That is why ASP Suresh did not want us to meet in a place where there would have been a CCTV camera.
When you were in the Hilton Hotel at KL Sentral with Deepak, Dinesh and ASP Suresh and after you had signed the second statutory declaration, was there anything said to you which you consider to be significant?
Yes, there were two things which Deepak told me. He informed me that Rosmah was very happy with me for retracting my first statutory declaration and wanted to have breakfast with me.
When I enquired from Deepak how long I was expected to leave the country for, he informed me it would be until Najib became the next prime minister and that I could return after that.
When did you contact your lawyer Americk Sidhu?
I called him in the middle of July 2009. I was still in India then. I wanted to arrange a meeting with him to inform him what had happened to me and to apologize for all the trouble I had caused. Americk was in the UK when I called him so we arranged to meet in Kuala Lumpur when he returned at the beginning of August.
Did you meet him?
Yes. We met in early August. At the meeting were two other senior lawyers whom Americk had arranged to be present. I told them everything that had happened to me from the time I left Americk’s office in the evening of the July 3, 2008.
Did you realise that this meeting had been secretly videoed?
I did not realise I was being filmed. I was, however, subsequently informed that a recording had been made and this video is safekeeping. I understand this was done to protect me in the event something untoward happened to me again.
How did you manage to survive financially all the time you were away?
Deepak arranged intermittent payments to be made to me. Some payments were made to my wife directly into her account with the EON Bank in KL.
Other payments were made to ASP Suresh who then arranged payment to me directly or through a friend of mine in Malaysia. I have copies of some of the cheques issued by Deepak Jaikishan and from his company, Carpet Raya Sdn Bhd.
I also have copies of my wife’s bank statements showing the deposits which were made. I also have copies of my HSBC account in Chennai.
How much money did you receive from Deepak from the time you left Malaysia in July 2008 till now?
All together, approximately RM750,000.
Do you have any money left?
Yes, I have invested approximately RM250,000 for my future as I am not sure what will happen to me. I also spent some money on renovations to my house in Rawang as my wife and youngest child were there. These renovations were in respect of the security of my home only.
The rest of the money was spent on renting accommodation in Chennai, paying for my children’s schooling and for daily expenses.
Didn’t Deepak promise you RM5 million?
The negotiations were all conducted by ASP Suresh at the Bak Kut Teh stall in Rawang on the night of the July 3, 2008. I was not involved in these negotiations as I was not concerned about money but the safety of my family.
I have subsequently come to realise that ASP Suresh had a vested interest in all this as I know he has received about the same amount of money from Deepak as I have. His job was to keep me under control. This is why he is annoyed with me for not following his instructions because his income from Deepak would be affected.
Why did you wait so long before revealing all this?
When I was at the Hilton Hotel at KL Sentral, I had asked Deepak how long I would have to stay out of the country. He told me it would have to be until Najib became the prime minister. I could not return to Malaysia before February 2009 as one Kumar had my passport in his possession in India for five months.
I only got my passport back after I complained to Deepak when he visited me in India with ASP Suresh. Deepak called his brother Rajesh to find out what had happened to my passport and within two days Kumar asked me to pick it up from him. I was at this time in India illegally as my visa had expired on September 5, 2008.
In order to get my visa extended I had to seek assistance from my wife’s uncle who is a state exco member in Tamil Nadu who managed to get it extended for one year. Only after this was I able to travel back to Malaysia.
What happened when you arrived back in Malaysia in February 2009?
When I landed in KL, I called Dinesh to inform him I was back in Malaysia. I was summoned to Deepak’s office in Sungai Besi at 11.45 pm the same night and was told in no uncertain terms to leave the country immediately, but I stayed a little longer as I wanted to be with my children and my wife. They didn’t know I had not left immediately.
Why did you come back to Malaysia in April 2009?
Just to see my wife and children. This time I did not tell anyone I was back and so I was not harassed.
Why have you now decided to reveal everything?
Because I want to stop all harassments and so that I can return to my normal life.
Were the contents of your first statutory declaration true?
Yes.
Were you forced to sign the first statutory declaration under duress?
Absolutely not.
Were you forced to sign the second statutory declaration under duress?
Yes, because I was fearful for the safety of my family and I did not read the contents of the second statutory declaration before I was asked to sign it.
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