Malaysian taxpayers shoulder bill for lavish 1MDB parties
Embezzled money from scandal-ridden state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) has apparently been used to fund celebrity parties, papers presented by the Singapore Commercial Affairs Department in front of a Singapore court show.
The documents – including bank statements shown here – give evidence that Jho Low, an investment manager, central figure in the 1MDB scandal and close friend of Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak and his family, used money embezzled from the company’s so-called Power Purchase bond in October 2012 to pay a Hollywood rap star called Swizz Beatz $800,000 to perform at Jho’s lavish 31st birthday event in Las Vegas.
The Power Purchase bond, which was raised for the country in conjunction with Goldman Sachs, were part of three major money raising ventures by 1MDB, which all ended up losing money rather than driving investments as promised. 1MDB today has accumulated debt of 45 billion ringgit ($9.3 billion), a bill to be presented to Malaysia’s taxpayers.
The evidence for the party expenses comes from bank statements and charges related to the court case against former senior BSI banker Yak Yew Chee, who pleaded guilty to the bulk of the charges against him some days ago. It shows that the money was funneled through bogus accounts in Switzerland, the Netherlands and Singapore to eventually be paid out to cover the Hollywood party.
[caption id="attachment_29352" align="alignleft" width="300"] Jho Low (right) with rapper Swizz Beatz and his wife Alicia Keys[/caption] Embezzled money from scandal-ridden state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) has apparently been used to fund celebrity parties, papers presented by the Singapore Commercial Affairs Department in front of a Singapore court show. The documents - including bank statements shown here - give evidence that Jho Low, an investment manager, central figure in the 1MDB scandal and close friend of Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak and his family, used money embezzled from the company’s so-called Power Purchase bond in October 2012 to pay a...
Embezzled money from scandal-ridden state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) has apparently been used to fund celebrity parties, papers presented by the Singapore Commercial Affairs Department in front of a Singapore court show.
The documents – including bank statements shown here – give evidence that Jho Low, an investment manager, central figure in the 1MDB scandal and close friend of Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak and his family, used money embezzled from the company’s so-called Power Purchase bond in October 2012 to pay a Hollywood rap star called Swizz Beatz $800,000 to perform at Jho’s lavish 31st birthday event in Las Vegas.
The Power Purchase bond, which was raised for the country in conjunction with Goldman Sachs, were part of three major money raising ventures by 1MDB, which all ended up losing money rather than driving investments as promised. 1MDB today has accumulated debt of 45 billion ringgit ($9.3 billion), a bill to be presented to Malaysia’s taxpayers.
The evidence for the party expenses comes from bank statements and charges related to the court case against former senior BSI banker Yak Yew Chee, who pleaded guilty to the bulk of the charges against him some days ago. It shows that the money was funneled through bogus accounts in Switzerland, the Netherlands and Singapore to eventually be paid out to cover the Hollywood party.
