KUALA LUMPUR: The police believe that another individual overseas could help them recover millions of ringgit worth of assets linked to the 1MDB scandal, according to Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf. He revealed that this individual was identified following the extradition of former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng Chong Hwa. Comm Ramli Mohamed indicated that the investigation is now focused on asset recovery, stating, “There are positive signs that we can recover assets both domestically and abroad to the tune of millions of ringgit.”
During a press conference at the CCID headquarters on Thursday (Oct 26), Comm Ramli Mohamed disclosed that the assets are not necessarily connected to Roger Ng, but rather another person residing abroad. However, he refused to disclose the identity of this individual at the moment to avoid jeopardizing the ongoing investigations.
On October 8, it was confirmed that Ng had returned to Malaysia to assist in the investigation, although the authorities did not reveal his whereabouts for security reasons. On April 8 of last year, Ng was found guilty in the United States for conspiring to embezzle hundreds of millions of dollars from 1MDB and was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison in New York.
The Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Razarudin Husain, had previously appealed to the public to allow the police enough room to conduct a thorough investigation into Ng’s case. He stated that there is no time limit for the investigation and it will continue until the authorities are satisfied. According to him, it is crucial to ensure that the government’s and the public’s money at stake is protected.
