PETALING JAYA,Mar 17: An MP has urged Putrajaya to ask the US government to answer an allegation that it is blocking the release of evidence that former prime minister Najib Razak can use to defend himself in his 1MDB corruption trial.
PKR’s Subang MP, Wong Chen, said every defendant should have access to evidence that could help him.
“In high-profile cases like the 1MDB corruption trial, justice must be seen to be done in a truthful and transparent manner,” he told FMT.
Lawyers for former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng have accused US authorities of interfering in Najib’s trial by keeping out of his reach evidence which could help his case.
In a letter seen by FMT, the lawyers said the evidence could include names of people who had siphoned millions from 1MDB and also the names of their beneficiaries.
The lawyers claimed the US government was working with Goldman Sachs to actively suppress evidence showing that there might be people who had worked out their own corrupt deals using 1MDB money.
Wong said the Malaysian public deserved full disclosure of the 1MDB scandal.
“All the actors and enablers of the 1MDB scandal must be fully exposed, brought to justice, and made accountable,” he said.
If the lawyers’ claims were true, he said, Putrajaya must seek a “full explanation” from the US government.
Last July, Goldman Sachs agreed to a settlement with Malaysia that included a payment of US$2.5 billion and a provision that the bank would guarantee that Malaysia would recoup an additional US$1.4 billion from 1MDB assets seized around the world.
Wong, who previously urged the auditor-general to probe the government’s settlement with Goldman Sachs, said he believed the investment banking company had got away lightly for its part in the scandal.
“Just fines and no jail term. That is not acceptable,” he said.
“Taking into account the gravity of the offence and the billions lost, the very least that the Malaysian government must do is to blacklist Goldman Sachs from doing any business whatsoever in Malaysia for the next few decades.”
Najib’s trial on 25 charges relating to abuse of power and the laundering of RM2.6 billion in 1MDB-linked funds is ongoing.
