KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 — An opposition lawmaker questioned today the timing of the joint-venture deal between state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and Petrosaudi International, putting back into the spotlight the allegedly dubious movement of billions of ringgit in funds in just six months.
DAP’s Petaling Jaya-Utara MP Tony Pua said it was shocking that the multi-billion ringgit joint venture lasted for only a short time, when 1MDB pumped in US$700 million in cash in the deal.
“This whole deal is just suspicious,” Pua said at a news conference.
Pua also claimed that Petrosaudi did not own any of the assets that it had put in the 1MDB joint venture.
Pua said the assets injected into the joint venture company, 1MDB Petrosaudi Ltd, were owned by Cyprus-registered energy company Buried Hill.
The assets injected into the joint venture - an oil well in Turkmenistan - were the basis of a farm-in agreement between Petrosaudi and Buried Hill that was signed on July 4, 2009, according to official letters sourced by Pua.
Yesterday, the UK’s The Sunday Times ran an expose on Malaysian business magnate Low Taek Jho and his alleged links to 1MDB’s venture with oil exploration and production firm Petrosaudi International.
The series of reports - which was a collaborated effort with whistleblower site Sarawak Report - cite details purportedly gleaned from thousands of leaked documents and emails involving 1MDB.
In Sarawak Report, the exposé accused Low better known as Jho Low, of siphoning off US$700 million (RM2.5 billion) from 1MDB and using PetroSaudi as a “front” in a 2009 joint-venture.
However, Petrosaudi has denied the claim.
Putrajaya said it sees a political element in the attacks on 1MDB, but pledged that it will take action under the country’s laws if it is proven that there is any wrongdoing in the deal.
