WSJ issues correction, says 1MDB bond funds went to Switzerland

The Wall Street Journal has issued a correction, stating that the US$3 billion bond fund Goldman Sachs raised for 1MDB went to BSI Bank in Switzerland and not Singapore as initially reported.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc wired US$3 billion in proceeds from a March 2013 bond issued by Malaysia’s 1MDB to the state fund’s account in Switzerland at BSI SA, according to a person familiar with the matter.

"An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the money was sent to 1MDB’s account at the private bank’s Singapore branch," said the WSJ in a footnote to the original article published on June 7.

The WSJ issued the correction after the Monetary Authority of Singapore denied that 1MDB's bond funds was transferred into banks in the city state.

The prime minister's aide Tengku Shariffuddin Tengku Ahmad had yesterday jumped on the mistake, accusing the publication of lying and trying to destablise the Malaysian government.

“By presenting the unverified lies of the government’s opponents as facts, the WSJ has become their willing tool – in their openly declared campaign to unseat a democratically elected government, using 1MDB as an excuse.

“It should be investigated why the WSJ is publishing so many proven lies about one country, and why an international newspaper is taking sides in Malaysia’s internal affairs,” he had said.

However, the WSJ stood by the allegation that part of the US$3 billion sent to Switzerland (and not Singapore) ended up in offshore accounts that eventually landed in Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's personal bank accounts.

The report, titled 'Goldman probed over Malaysia fund 1MDB', said the bank was being investigated if it broke any laws in its dealings with 1MDB.

The WSJ had in July last year revealed that US$681 million (then RM2.6 billion) entered Najib's personal bank accounts from an offshore entity called Tanore Finance.

Najib later admitted to receiving the funds but claimed that it was an Arab "donation".

He denied taking government funds for personal gain.

Australia-based ABC News in March later revealed that the total sum entering Najib's personal bank accounts from multiple sources amounted to over US$1 billion (RM4.2 billion).

Malaysian attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali accepted the explanation that the funds were a "donation" and cleared Najib of wrongdoing.

Apandi also cleared Najib of receiving multi-million ringgit transfers from state-owned SRC International on grounds that he was unaware about the deposits.