Former Kuala Lumpur CID chief Mat Zain Ibrahim has lodged a second police report against attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali, alleging Apandi gave false evidence in clearing Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak of wrongdoing in the RM2.6 billion deposited into Najib’s personal bank accounts.
The police report was lodged last Friday, and it comes after Apandi, the highest legal officer in the country, having not shown any evidence, such as bank statements, to prove the claim that the money came from a Saudi Arabia prince and that US$620 million, and not US$650 million, had been returned to the prince by Najib.
Mat Zain said there were conflicting or confusing material facts if one were to compare the flowchart of the transactions and the statement of the transactions obtained and reproduced by international and local media, such as The Wall Street Journal, together with Apandi's statement.
He gave an example of where the flowchart specifically showed the transfer of US$681 million from Tanore Finance Corp, through Falcon Private Bank, Singapore branch, to Najib's private account, that was made between March 21, 2013, and March 25, 2013.
However, Mat Zain in his police report, said Apandi at the press conference in clearing Najib, had said the deposits took place between March 22, 2013, and April 10, 2013, with these dates being different from the flowchart
“The detailed and accurate transaction of the sender, the bank that sent the funds, the recipient, amount and date as well as time of the deposit and withdrawal, can be seen through the bank statements. The AG has the right and power to check on the statements.”
“The flowchart shows the transfer back of US$650 million on Aug 30, 2013, from Najib's personal account to the original sender through Falcon Private Bank, Singapore branch, which is owned by Tanore Finance Corporation. On that same day, Najib closed his AmPrivate Banking account,” Mat Zain said.
“However, Apandi's press statement said a fund of US$620 million was transferred. There is a difference of US$30 million, or roughly, close to RM100 million. The chart shows US$650 million returned to Tanore Finance Corporation but Apandi said it was US$620 million, without specifically saying how it was returned,” the former top investigator said.
A high-profile investigator
Mat Zain, well known for being the investigating officer of the black-eye incident on Anwar Ibrahim in 1998, and other high profile financial cases, further said there were also questions as to whether Najib obtained Bank Negara's approval to transfer the huge sums of money outside the country.
Last Friday, Special Affairs Department director-general Puad Zarkashi claimed that Najib had obtained Bank Negara approval to bring in the US$681 million, which has introduced another version to the RM2.6 billion saga.
Mat Zain said Apandi verified that the donor was an Arab prince, who is the son of a Saudi king, and not the Saudi Arabian king or the Saudi government.
In his last police report against Apandi last March, Mat Zain debunked the AG's claim that a Saudi prince was the donor, as only four Saudi Arabian princes have made the Forbes 2013 rich Arabs list - Prince Alwaleed Talal who then had a reported fortune of US$20 billion; Prince Sultan Mohammed with US$2.6 billion; Prince Abdullah Musaad with US$144.5 million; and Prince Mutaib Abdulaziz with US$110.1 million.
Of the four, only Prince Mutaib is the son of a king, but his US$110.1 million net worth is far less than the US$681 million donated to Najib.
Pulau Batu Puteh analogy
Using the Pulau Batu Puteh case as an analogy, where Singapore in November 2007 proved to the International Court of Justice that the Malaysian team used a doctored picture from a blog to show the disputed island's proximity to Johor, Mat Zain said the same thing could have been done here.
He said Apandi should come out with an in-and-out flowchart on the US$681 million, which must be verified by AmPrivate Banking as well, to correctly show that the fund came from the Arab prince.
“Apandi's inability to submit such documents has resulted in public suspicion over the credibility and transparency of his statement. It further strengthens the trust in the chart coming out from WSJ, which other news portals have also carried.
“Based on the above, it shows that the flowchart produced by WSJ is more credible, if compared with Apandi's statement. If the chart is false or confusing, the Money Authority of Singapore would have taken action on WSJ or other parties that are named, so as to safeguard the credibility of its financial institutions,” Mat Zain said in his police report.
This was more so, the former top cop said, because the transfer of US$681 million and the remittance of US$650 million were done through Falcon Private Bank, Singapore.
Based on this information, and read together with his previous report, Mat Zain says there are grounds for a detailed investigation to be made against Apandi for falsifying evidence with his statement on the RM2.6 billion alleged donation.
“The investigations can be done under Section 193 of the Penal Code, as was with his previous report,” he told Malaysiakini when met recently.
Mat Zain also pointed out that the Pulau Batu Puteh doctored photograph was revealed when then prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, was in Singapore, attending the Asean-European Union meeting. No response was given to this.
The ICJ delivered its decision on May 23, 2008 and the former top cop said that if Malaysia wanted to appeal, it still has two more years to do so.
Johor Sultan Ibrahim Mahmud Iskandar had on May 29, 2014, said the state wants the disputed island back and Menteri Besar Khaled Nordin said the state has set up a committee to study this.
