1 MDB and Najib's billions: Will ANZ/AMMB's Mandy Simpson go the way of BMF's Jalil Ibrahim,or will prosecution by Australian regulators save her



by Ganesh Sahathevan

The WSJ reported on 1 March 2016, the first day of fall in Australia:

Deposits into personal accounts of Malaysia’s prime minister totaled more than $1 billion—hundreds of millions more than previously identified—and global investigators believe much of it originated with a Malaysian state fund, people familiar with the matter say.

The investigators’ belief contradicts a conclusion reached recently by Malaysia’s attorney general.

The attorney general said $681 million deposited to Prime Minister Najib Razak’s account—identified by The Wall Street Journal last year—was a legal donation from a member of Saudi Arabia’s royal family, and most was returned. The attorney general said there was nothing improper and it was time to stop scrutinizing the deposits, a notion echoed by Mr. Najib.

The investigators believe that sometime later, most of the $681 million was sent back into the web of offshore entities through which it had arrived.

Prior to the WSJ story, Malaysia's recenly desposed deputy PM Muhyiddin Yassin said that movement of cash via PM Najib's accounts was "clearly a crime".
The accounts were held at the ANZ linked AMMB. ANZ is in what it calls a partnership with AmBank,


Central to that partnership is AMMB CFO Mandy Simpson, who has been seconded from ANZ.





Ms Simpson, like Jalil Ibrahim, the former assistant general manager of BMF, is probably one of few people  who is familiar with all the intricate details of the ownership, utilization and ultimate destination of the funds in question.She probably carries all this in her head.It is not everyday that a client has billions in cash to invest with this bank.

If Ms Simpson is disposed of, just like Jalil, this whole 1 MDB incident will probably become a lot simpler for those involved.
Of course, AUSTRAC and other Australian regulators might well get to her first, but given their history ,I am not holding my breath (no pun intended.
END


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