Malaysian graft buster: Voice clips show coverup by ex-PM

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia — Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Commission on Wednesday released a series of audio recordings allegedly showing former Prime Minister Najib Razak seeking help from Abu Dhabi’s crown prince and colluding with a former prosecutor to conceal wrongdoings linked to a massive corruption scandal.

The voice clips marked a new blow to Najib, who has denied any misdeeds in the multimillion-dollar looting of the 1MDB investment fund and is on trial for graft after his election defeat in May 2018.

Commission chief Latheefa Koya said the nine phone conversations, recorded from January 2016 to July 2016, revealed a “clear coverup and criminal conspiracy” by Najib to stifle investigations, fabricate false evidence and obstruct justice in the 1MDB scandal.

She said the agency has verified that the clips were genuine but declined to say how it obtained them. She said the clips will be given to police for further action.

“We can confirm their absolute authenticity. The contents are shocking; it’s a coverup and subversion of justice,” Latheefa said.

In a July 26, 2016, conversation, Najib purportedly called Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed to seek an urgent meeting to resolve an “impasse” over payment between 1MDB and Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co. That came just days after the U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits to seize allegedly ill-gotten assets linked to 1MDB and said at least $3.5 billion was misappropriated from the fund by people close to Najib.

Najib also allegedly asked Mohammed to forge a loan agreement to help his stepson and Hollywood producer Riza Aziz, who was named in the U.S. lawsuit. Najib said a loan agreement would show the 1MDB money to Riza’s production firm Red Granite came from a legitimate source.

“I don’t want him to be a victim when he was totally unaware of the source of money,” Najib told the prince, according to the phone recordings.

Red Granite later paid $60 million to drop the U.S. lawsuit but Riza was charged in Malaysia last year with money-laundering.

Najib told local media that he was shocked but didn’t confirm nor deny the conversations. He was quoted as saying that he would study the recordings and refer the matter to his lawyers.

Najib started the 1MDB fund ostensibly for economic development shortly after taking power in 2009, but it accumulated billions in debts and sparked investigations in the U.S. and other countries.

In another recording in Jan. 5, 2016, then-public prosecutor Dzulkifli Ahmad allegedly told Najib that the 1MDB investigation outcome was detrimental but that he and then Attorney-General Apandi Ali can handle the matter on the legal side. On Jan. 26 that year, Apandi held a news conference to clear Najib of any wrongdoing. Dzulkifli was promoted to anti-graft agency chief in August 2016.

Another conversation between Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor revolved around plans to invite representatives from the United Arab Emirates to settle a financial dispute between 1MDB and International Petroleum Investment Co. without arbitration.

“Darling, you are the prime minister, you should take charge,” Rosmah told Najib, saying he has “goons”around him, according to the recordings.

Latheefa said the agency decided to make the clips public as it is of national interest and that it wouldn’t be prejudicial to Najib’s ongoing trials.

The Associated Press