Malaysian Tapes and Deep State

FMT:

Jho Low blames Najib, sees ‘no wrongdoing’ in 1MDB scandal

Fugitive financier Low Taek Jho says he wanted to assist in repatriating assets back to Malaysia without being prosecuted. (Bloomberg pic)

PETALING JAYA: Recordings of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho’s conversations with government officials under the Pakatan Harapan administration have been published in an Al Jazeera documentary.

In the clips contained in the two-part special investigation titled “Jho Low: Hunt For A Fugitive”, Low, better known as Jho Low, turns on the others connected to the 1MDB scandal.

“I don’t believe there’s any wrongdoing,” says the alleged mastermind of the 1MDB scandals.

He suggests that he borrowed billions from 1MDB to buy luxury items, including high-end real estate, art pieces, a private jet and a mega-yacht.

“All these ultimately were loans, directly or indirectly, but, ultimately, I think the time has come, we want to assist in repatriating these assets back in return for cooperating and moving on with life without, you know, being prosecuted,” he says.

But former FBI special agent Debra LaPrevotte, who was involved in the 1MDB investigation, dismisses Low’s claim, saying if there was no wrongdoing, he would not want to return assets nor would they be seized in the first place.

In the recordings, Low also blames former prime minister and finance minister Najib Razak for the 1MDB scandal, saying he (Low) had no authority to make any decision.

Najib is facing 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering over alleged 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.

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kt notes:

I note with interest the Pakatan Harapan government recorded dialogues between Jho Lo and its government officials. Quite normal.

But providing same recordings to Al Jazeera? Would that be normal to (presumably, DELIBERATELY) release confidential government tapes to a news media?

Also, we recall that during Pakatan's reign, such confidential tapes, worse, because they were of PRIVATE conversations between a then-serving PM and wife, were also released to the public and court by MACC as if there was no national security breach, that of secretly taping the conversations of a PM.

Additionally, there was no verification-authentication at all of those audio tapes whereupon a sole witness proved those were the conversations of then PM Najib by merely saying he recognised the voice of Najib, wakakaka, which subsequently was accepted by the court.

Wow, wonderful authentication. Compare or rather, contrast that with the mountains of difficulties in verifying the video tapes of the gay sex scandal in 4 points Hotel in Sandakan, all preceded by its haughty dismissal by the PM Mahathir.

Wonder who's the hand behind all these, and at this particular point?