Ganesh Sahathevan

by Ganesh Sahathevan The Australian's Ben Butler reported this morning of 31 March 2016 : It is believed that the Monetary Authority of Singapore has asked close to 40 banks with a presence in the city-state to provide information about money flows from entities linked to 1MDB. Flows into accounts at ANZ and NAB are believed to be among those queried but it is not known whether the MAS questioned the Australian banks or the banks providing the funds. Transfers of as little as $50,000 are believed to be under scrutiny by the MAS, which is investigating whether the haul was split into small bundles in a bid to escape notice. ANZ and NAB decline­d to comment. That the NAB has now been drawn into the investigation raises questions about the role played by BNZ's CEO Anthony Healy,and whether the 1 MDB investigation should extend to New Zealand,: ANZ control and management of AMMB accounting means 1 MDB scandal is well within the jurisdiction of APRA,AUSTRAC and the AFP:Westpac &...

by Ganesh Sahathevan The ANZ board and it chairman David Gonski have issued a statement with regards the AMMB money laundering scandal which reads in part : “As a minority shareholder, ANZ is not involved (and not permitted to be involved) in the day-to-day operations of AmBank, which is a listed company on the Malaysian Stock Exchange.“ Directors have a fiduciary duty to all AmBank shareholders (not just ANZ) and nominated executives are employees of AmBank (and do not report to ANZ). The above goes against everything ANZ and AMMB  has ever said about ANZ  involvement in AMMB, and it beggars belief that  nominated executives are employees of AmBank (and do not report to ANZ). It certainly goes against  Paul Edwards attempt to kill a story ciritcal of AMMB's accounting practices and financial statements. Be that all as it may, it is now obvious that David Gonski and board expect ANZ employees who have and are still working at AMMB to take the blame ,to take the bull...

by Ganesh Sahathevan  It was reported on this blog last year that some RM 1.125 billion had been traced to PM Najib Razak's accounts in Hong Kong. ABC 4 Corner's Linton Besser has since published a letter from a Prince Saud Majid AlSaud, apparently gifting some USD 375 million to PM Naji b, that was to be conveyed via a company named Blackstone, which Sarawak Report has shown belongs to Jho Low, and intended to pass-off as the well-known US investment firm of the same name. The letter is obviously fake,and this writer will be happy for "HRH Prince Saud AlSaud Majid AlSaud" to prove  otherwise, on  this blog or any other open access media. Meanwhile, the transactions referred to in the letter go back to 2010-2100, when the Ringgit was approximately 3 times to the dollar. USD 375 million would then be approximately RM 1.125 billion, the exact amount that was transferred to Hong Kong..It does appear that the allegations raised in September last year have been proven (se...

by Ganesh Sahathevan ABC Four Corners' Linton Besser reported in their story State Of Fear: A high-level source has shown Four Corners the Malaysian prime minister's bank accounts. The banking documents reveal an extraordinary and steady flow of money between 2011 and 2014. By June 26, 2012, the bank records show deposits worth US$75 million from a Saudi prince, US$80 million from the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Finance and another US$120 million from a shell company in the British Virgin Islands. On the 21st of March, 2013, the prime minister received US$620 million from a different company registered there. Four days later, the same donor deposited another US$61 million.By the 10th of April, 2013, the prime minister had received more than US$1 billion. While much of this has been reported elsewhere (see Sarawak Report,WSJ,and this blog) the above raises a number of issues which suggest that a paper trail  has been concocted to justify the "donation" narrative that h...

by Ganesh Sahathevan Pa ul Edwards  Group General Manager Corporate Communications  at ANZ In 2006 ANZ's head of corporate communications intervened to ensure that a media investigation into accounting issues at AMMB was stopped.In an email to this writer he wrote:  I want to advise you that ANZ will not be contributing any thing further on this issue nor will we be responding to any further queries from you. I know from my colleagues at AMMB that they will be taking the same approach to communication from you. It has been previously reported, with regards a more recent example of ANZ's control of AMMB's accounting that the ANZ board and managers may have inadvertently admitted that Najib's "Saudi donation" story is false . Taken together it is obvious that the ANZ has been in control of AMMB's accounting for more than a decade.Consequently the theft and money laundering issues that have arisen out of the 1 MDB scandal are well within the jurisdiction of A...

by Ganesh Sahathevan The Malay Mail Online  reported yesterday : “The Federal Government’s latest debt amount for the year ending December 31 2015 is RM 630.5 billion, or 54.5 per cent of the GDP.  However, the MOF said the debt is still manageable. “The government is committed to ensure that the Federal Government’s debts do not exceed 55 per cent of the GDP. However, as previously reported on this blog, Government debt estimates do not include debt incurred by 1MDB. Adding 1 MDB debt of approximately RM 47 billion raises the level of  Government debt to RM 677.5 billion,. Given the underlying GDP figure of RM 1156.88 billion, that debt comes to 58.56% of GDP, more than 3 percentage points above the ceiling. END

by Ganesh Sahathevan The wording (highlighted) in the statement below  from the AMBank Group 2014 Annual Report suggests that AmBank's ANZ managers and the ANZ board which oversees them  have known all along that  PM Najib's  so-called Saudi donor story is  false: Exctarct from the AMBnk Group Annual Report 2014 AmBank (M) Berhad and AmIslamic Bank Berhad .  Non-Compliance to Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act and Standard Guidelines on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism, as the banks did not adequately capture information on the person conducting cash transactions exceeding RM50,000. Total Compound amount: RM400,000 issued by Bank Negara Malaysia All matters highlighted above have since been satisfactorily addressed. This matter appears to be linked to the far larger fine of RM 53.7 million that AMBank Group disclosed late last year.   Also in October last year the investigate news site  Sarawak Re...