Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz, the stepson of former Prime Minister Najib Razak, should not look gloomy when he was brought to the Session Court today to be charged. He should do what his stepfather, or what the deputy of his stepfather – Ahmad Zahid Hamidi – did, when they were charged in court. Mr. Riza should wave and smile as if he had just won a beauty pageant or beauty contest.
Indeed, Riza, co-founder of Red Granite Pictures that produced the film “The Wolf of Wall Street”, should be proud to be the first kid of the highly corrupt former “First Family” of Malaysia to follow the footstep of his parents to be hauled to the court. Like step-daddy Najib, Riza did the family and his community proud in laundering money in excess of RM1 billion.
Najib Razak, faces 42 charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT), money laundering and abuse of power involving RM42 million linked to SRC International, a subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB). He was also caught with his hand in the cookie jar – the discovery of a whopping US$681 million (RM2.6 billion) in his private bank accounts.
Mr. Najib, who was the Chairman of 1MDB, has denied any involvement in the scandal, let alone stealing any money from the funds. Instead, he has claimed that the money was donations from Saudi royal family, a claim that could not be fully substantiated. Amusingly, he was forced to make a U-turn during an hour-grilling with Al-Jazeera’s reporter Mary Ann Jolley last year.
Speaking to Al Jazeera’s 101 East in an exclusive interview on Oct 26, 2018, the “pink lips” said he actually did not verify the source of the RM2.6 billion. His new fairy tale was that he had “assumed” that the donations were connected to Saudi Arabia. The despicable Najib even lied that Saudi King Abdullah had actually wanted to give him US$800 million, but he turned it down.
Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, the real mother of Riza, was exposed to have had purchased a 22-carat pink diamond necklace – worth a stunning US$27.3 million – using money siphoned from 1MDB. According to U.S.-DOJ investigations, Jho Low had arranged for jewellery designer Lorraine Schwartz (also known as “Jewish Queen of Oscar Bling”) for the pink diamond on June 2, 2013.
Today, 42-year-old Mr. Riza was charged with five counts of money-laundering US$248 million (RM1.026 billion) of funds believed to be originated from sovereign investment company 1MDB. The massive misappropriation occurred between April 12, 2011 to November 14, 2012. All the charges are under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001.
If convicted, a fine of up to RM5 million or a jail term of up to five years, or both could be slapped on Mr. Riza. Unlike his stepfather Najib, the trial of Riza will be absolutely exciting because the embezzlement of RM1.026 billion involved funds flowed across the border – from two bank accounts in Switzerland to a U.S. and a Singapore bank account respectively.
The trial of Riza will answer one important question that everyone has been asking – did Najib really steal money from 1MDB? Pro-Najib cybertroopers, propagandists and bloggers have been feeding misconception to the gullible and ignorant supporters that the ex-PM must be innocent because he has not been charged for stealing 1MDB money since the collapse of the regime last May.
Even now, Najib’s trial is about SRC International Sdn Bhd and not about 1MDB. As we had explained, the crimes involving SRC were the easiest part of the entire multi-billion-dollar theft concerning 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Bhd). That’s because all the transactions of transferring RM42 million to Najib’s private bank account were done locally.
The complex phases would involve foreign countries and intercontinental financial transactions. The initial plan was to put Najib on trial for embezzling money linked to SRC International first, to be followed by 1MDB. That was why Attorney-General Tommy Thomas sought to postpone (for the third time) Najib’s corruption trial involving 1MDB – the defence team kept delaying the SRC trial.
However, because Najib’s paid cybertroopers have been mocking the government for not having evidence or guts to start charging Najib in the 1MDB scandal, the timetable has been moved forward. Instead of wasting time and wait for the SRC trial to conclude, the Attorney General Chambers have decided to run the 1MDB trial now – by parading Najib’s stepson instead.
Yes, the family of crooks and their supporters should be careful what they wish for. Instead of being grateful that the 1MDB case was left in cold storage for an entire year, they foolishly asked and challenged the government to do its best to prosecute Najib and families. Now that their wish is granted and Riza has been officially charged, amusingly, they moaned, whined and bitched about something else.
“Despite the settlement in the U.S. and the fact that alleged wrongdoings occurred entirely outside of Malaysia, the MACC decides to press charges after a whole year of leaving this case in cold storage. He is not a criminal,” – said Riza Aziz’s sister Nooryana Najwa, in an Instagram post. Nooryana Najwa Najib, also known as Gina, had similarly slammed the authorities for arresting her mother, Rosmah.
True, Red Granite has paid the U.S. government US$60 million to settle claims it benefited from the 1MDB scandal, and the U.S. returned the money to Malaysia. But the fact that it agreed to a settlement speaks volumes that the films produced were financed using money misappropriated from 1MDB and channeled into bank accounts of Riza’s company Red Granite Pictures Inc.
So, which part of money laundering that a Harvard student like Gina didn’t understand? It appears that the daughter of Najib agreed that his brother had committed wrongdoings. What she tries to argue, however, was that Riza’s criminal act happened outside of Malaysia, so he is not a criminal in Malaysia hence should not be charged for laundering US$248 million (RM1.026 billion).
Wait a minute! How about the so-called “double jeopardy law”, as trumpeted by genius Harvard student Nooryana Najwa and a truckload of Najib supporters after Riza Aziz was charged with money laundering today? “Double jeopardy” says an accused person cannot be tried again on the same (or similar) charges and on the same facts.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights recognise, under Article 14 (7), that – “No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again for an offence for which he has already been finally convicted or acquitted in accordance with the law and penal procedure of each country.” This is what the cyber troopers and propagandists of Najib wanted the people to believe.
First of all, the settlement between the U.S. government and Red Granite Pictures Inc., and Riza Aziz for that matter, was a settlement based on a “civil lawsuit” that sought to seize assets allegedly bought with money stolen from 1MDB. It was never about money laundering. Today, the charges slapped on Riza is about money laundering – a “criminal lawsuit”.
Therefore, both lawsuits are different charges altogether. Perhaps Gina has been watching too much television shows in the U.S. were the moment the bad guy gets across the border, he is safe. Section 127A of the Criminal Procedure Code actually allows Malaysian courts to punish you for committing certain crimes overseas – including (surprise!!) money laundering.
Nooryana Najwa, the favourite daughter of Najib and Rosmah, can huff and puff all she wants that his brother’s wrongdoings occurred outside of Malaysia. But there’s something called extra-territorial jurisdiction and the powerful “Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001”. The settlement with the U.S. does not give Riza the immunity from prosecution in Malaysia.
For fun’s sake, even if the U.S. had charged and punished Riza Aziz for money laundering, which the Department of Justice did not, the “double jeopardy law” does not apply to the Government of Malaysia. Why? Of the 72 signatories or 172 parties of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which recognises the “double jeopardy law”, Malaysia is not one of them (*grin*).
Yes, like the ICERD (International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination), which Najib-led UMNO political party had condemned last year, the previous government dominated by the same UMNO had not signed the treaty to ensure “double jeopardy law” is enforced. So, to scream and cry about injustice due to double jeopardy law is fabulously foolish.
Did Nooryana Najwa really think Attorney General Tommy Thomas was a fool like ex-AG Apandi Ali, who was appointed by his daddy to cleanse him of any wrongdoing in 1MDB scandal? If the government was so reckless as to charge Riza Aziz without a strong case, why was the stepson of Najib so solemn when he appeared in court to be charged. He should be grinning from ear to ear, should he not?
Other Articles That May Interest You …
- Assets Declaration – Najib Now Cries “Unfair” To Disclose Side Incomes, After Stolen RM2.6 Billion
- MACC Chief Latheefa Will Be Under Pressure To Catch More Crooks – And UMNO Has The Biggest Pool Of Sharks
- The Family Of Crooks In Trouble – Here’s Why Najib Was Terribly Upset & Terrified Over The Civil Forfeiture Lawsuits
- Money Trail Established – Najib’s Lawyer Now Hopes The Judge Will Be Too Stupid To Realize Najib Is Faking His Stupidity
- Crooked Najib’s Grand Plan To Avoid Jail Time – And Makes A Return As Prime Minister Again
- One Big Family Of Crooks – Nooryana Najib Should Be Grateful She & Hubby Daniyar Are Spared … For Now
- Mahathir Moves In For The Kill – Congrats UMNO, Your Big Mouth Is Why Your Accounts Are Frozen
- Why The Hell Didn’t Crooks Najib And Rosmah Flee Instantly After They Lost The Election?
- This Chart Shows How US-DOJ Links Auntie Rosie To A $27-Million Pink Diamond
- Swiss A.G. – Najib’s 1MDB Scammed At Least $800 Million Using “Ponzi Scheme”
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July 5th, 2019 by financetwitter
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Dun worry! Once Anwar becomes PM, he will strike a deal with Najib and the latter + family will be totally okay. Just have to hang tight and drag on the Court hearing.