IGP: No link between AmBank founder's murder and 1MDB

KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 — There is no connection between Ambank founder Hussain Ahmad Najadi’s murder two years ago and the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy now linked to the bank, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said today.

Noting that the theory connecting the two topics has surfaced online, Khalid said action will be taken against those making the claim.

“This is an act that is irresponsible. They purposely spread news that are untrue, spread slander and we are investigating it.

“There is no connection between Hussain Najadi’s murder case and the 1MDB investigation. None at all,” he told reporters here.

“We know why the Hussain Najadi murder case happened, the murderer has been punished,” he added, also saying that the banker had not lodged a police report days before his death.

“I advise the public, in their passion to discuss cases like 1MDB and MARA to be careful in their comments, because any comment found to be false, we will take action,” he said, confirming that police were probing the source of the false rumours.

When asked about Hussain’s son Pascal Najadi’s comments on the topic, Khalid said the man had made the allegations after reading them in a blog, which Khalid said meant that someone else had started the claims. 

Yesterday, DAP’s Lim Kit Siang asked the police to reopen investigations into the AmBank founder’s killing, saying it could help lay to rest rumours of a possible link between the case and the ongoing 1MDB controversy.

The DAP veteran, citing recent allegations in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that billions of ringgit from the state investor were deposited into the private AmBank accounts of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, said the police should find out if the unusually large transfer of funds to and from the account had been noticed by the slain banker.

Hussain was assassinated on July 29 two years ago while his wife was seriously injured in the shooting, when they emerged from the Kuan Yin Temple in Lorong Ceylon.

Last September, the High Court found tow truck driver Koong Swee Kwan guilty of murdering Hussain and sentenced him to death; also giving him an 18-years jail term for the attempted murder of the banker’s wife Cheong Mei Kuen.

In a report last Friday, the WSJ claimed that a money trail showed that US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) were moved between government agencies, banks and companies before it ended up in Najib’s accounts.

Yesterday, WSJ also uploaded a batch of redacted documents that it said was from a “Malaysian government investigation” to back its report last week, but noted that these papers do not state the original money source or provide further details on the cash after it was allegedly transferred to Najib’s accounts.

The flowcharts and bank documents uploaded by WSJ relate to transactions in March 2013, December 2014 and February 2015 which purportedly ended up in Najib’s accounts in AmIslamic Bank.

A January 2014 letter on the power of attorney over three bank accounts under AmIslamic Bank Berhad — that WSJ said belonged to Najib — was also provided.

Najib has denied taking money for personal gain and categorised the allegations as “political sabotage”.