Malaysian investigators scrutinizing a controversial government
investment fund have traced nearly $700 million of deposits into what
they believe are the personal bank accounts of Malaysia’s prime
minister, Najib Razak, according to documents from a government probe.
The
investigation documents mark the first time Mr. Najib has been directly
connected to the probes into state investment fund 1Malaysia
Development Bhd., or 1MDB.
Mr. Najib, who founded 1MDB and heads
its board of advisors, has been under growing political pressure over
the fund, which amassed $11 billion in debt it is struggling to repay.
The
government probe documents what investigators believe to be the
movement of cash among government agencies, banks and companies linked
to 1MDB before it ended up in Mr. Najib’s personal accounts. Documents
reviewed by The Wall Street Journal include bank transfer forms and flow
charts put together by government investigators that reflect their
understanding of the path of the cash.
The original source of the
money is unclear and the government investigation doesn’t detail what
happened to the money that went into Mr. Najib’s personal accounts.
“The
prime minister has not taken any funds for personal use,” said a
Malaysian government spokesman. “The prime minister’s political
opponents, unwilling to accept his record or the facts, continue to try
to undermine him with baseless smears and rumours for pure political
gain.”
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