By KINIBIZ
From Left: Jho Low, Najib Abdul Razak, Prince Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud, Rosmah Mansor, Nor Ashman, Tarek Obaid, Nooryana Najwa
Whistle-blower website Sarawak Report has published a group photo of the prime minister and his family alongside businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low and Petrosaudi International chief Prince Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud.
Allegedly taken aboard a rented luxury yacht, the photo was taken in August 2009, claimed Sarawak Report in an article. This would be one month before controversial 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) inked a rushed joint venture with Petrosaudi which saw a US$1 billion investment by the former for 40% in the partnership vehicle.
Also in the picture are the prime minister’s children Nor Ashman and Nooryana Najwa as well as Tarek Essam Ahmad Obaid, Petrosaudi’s chief executive officer who was also named as co-founder of the company.
On Sept 29, 2009, 1MDB and Petrosaudi had inked a joint venture which saw 1MDB subscribe to 40% in the joint venture vehicle 1MDB Petrosaudi Limited. The signing was the culmination of a series of events starting from the incorporation of the vehicle on Sept 18, 2009, as well as an agreement executed on Sept 25 the same year that the vehicle would owe its parent company Petrosaudi US$700 million.
Following the transfer of funds from 1MDB, the debt was repaid immediately. However Sarawak Report has previously claimed, citing leaked documents, that the US$700 million were transferred into a bank account controlled by Jho Low.
‘Government-to-government’
Najib Abdul Razak (Left), Rosmah Mansor (Centre) and Prince Turki (Right)
Following the publication of the photo by Sarawak Report, news portal The Rakyat Post published a commentary alongside a number of confidential letters between the prime minister and Prince Turki, which were apparently taken from a blog.
The commentary, authored by blogger Lim Sian See, defended the transaction between 1MDB and Petrosaudi, arguing that by publishing the group photo the whistle-blower has confirmed that the rushed joint venture was a government-to-government endeavour.
“Sarawak Report probably thought that by publishing pictures of Najib family together with Jho Low in August 2009 before the PetroSaudi-1MDB joint venture was signed will damage Najib’s reputation. Actually, the reverse is true,” wrote the blogger. “Today Sarawak Report proves conclusively once and for all that PetroSaudi is owned by Prince Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud.”
The commentary further noted Prince Turki’s background as a former governor of Riyadh province as well as being a member of the House of Saud, seventh son of the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
Prince Turki and Najib
“Prime minister Najib was introduced to Prince Turki by the late King Abdullah and told by the late King to work with his son’s company when Najib went on a four-day official visit to King Abdullah in July 2009 — one month before these pictures of Najib with Prince Turki were taken,” alleged the blogger.
“In this meeting, King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Saud had expressed the possibility of Saudi Arabia participating actively in Malaysia in the Islamic banking sector, expanding participation in the Islamic services and product manufacturing sectors and also raising its equity in the country,” wrote the blogger further.
As for Jho Low the prime minister never denied knowing him nor has 1MDB hid his early involvement which soon ended after 1MDB took off, claimed the blogger, having morphed from its original incarnation as Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA).
“Everyone knows he helped found TIA and was appointed by the then Agong and Sultan Terengganu Tuanku Mizan,” said the commentary. “As far as I know, Jho Low never had any formal position once TIA became 1MDB nor was he paid any salary or was put on any formal employment contracts or advisory positions.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.