10 Apr 1MDB Justice Plods On
Malaysian former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng was convicted of 3 charges of money laundering, conspiracy and bribery in the 1MDB scandal on Friday. He faces up to 30 years in prison. He is the 10th person to be found guilty of criminality in court surrounding what is being called the world’s largest kleptocracy scandal (Ng and his legal team may challenge the verdict and appeal).
1MDB is complicated and has dragged on for almost 7 years since the scandal initially became public in July 2015. As such, many tune out the hard-to-follow stream of reports about it.
It is further complicated by a local narrative that aims to portray the scandal as a political conspiracy. Those frustrated with the delays in prosecution within Malaysia and the lack of shame and accountability on display have become cynical that justice will not be served.
Ng’s conviction is, nevertheless, an important step towards justice.
Not only did the prosecution bring to the fore new revelations about the scandal, but it also showed how a trial can proceed, within 2 months and with due process, and serves as a reminder that 1MDB is international in scope, not local.
Ng was convicted by a jury that has nothing to do with Malaysia and its politics. The jury convicted Ng on the overwhelming strength of evidence of greed and vice.
Just last week, testimony by former 1MDB chairperson Mohd Bakke Salleh claimed he, himself, met Low in Najib’s office when Najib was deputy prime minister.
Mohd Bakke also testified that Najib told him to proceed with the US$1bil joint venture with PetroSaudi International. Yet another witness, Ismee Ismail, a former 1MDB board member, confirmed that RM2.28bil went into Najib’s bank account.
All of this testimony in the 1MDB-Tanore trial will be contested as the fight in the courtroom continues. Najib remains in the dock. Despite his well-oiled social media campaign and large number of followers, he faces serious charges.
Increasingly, more testimony is tying the scandal to the former PM directly. Ng’s trial, for example, included Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor; both were specifically mentioned in the prosecution’s closing summary.
Rather than closure, the New York case has opened up further investigations. The revelations in the Brooklyn proceedings raised questions about the alleged involvement of others in 1MDB. This includes former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz and her husband, Tawfiq Ayman.
As reported in January, the MACC initially probed Zeti and her husband, Tawfiq. The focus now is apparently only only on the alleged US$15.4 million 1MDB funds reportedly linked to a company owned by Tawfiq in Singapore, which Bukit Aman is currently investigating.
One dimension of the Ng case stands out negatively: a Malaysian was convicted in a US courtroom when his boss, a white American who arguably was even more responsible for the misdeeds, given his testimony and reported reprehensible scandalous behaviour, is walking away without jail time. The company Ng worked for, Goldman Sachs, has also managed to get away with only fines.
Minimally, Ng’s conviction has served to bring further global attention to 1MDB and cast yet another shadow on Malaysia. It also shows that justice is not always fairly applied.
The investigations surrounding 1MDB will continue until there is closure on the main outstanding cases. The longer the legal cases take to reach conclusion, the longer Malaysia will continue to be tied to the massive multi-billion ringgit scandal.
And this slow pace of justice does a disservice to Malaysians, who are already paying the price for the debt incurred by 1MDB and will be doing so for generations.
First published on Between The Lines