PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has discovered “many mini 1MDBs” in its campaign to root out corruption in the state, according to a top adviser to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, signaling the wrongdoing unearthed at the debt-ridden fund may be more widespread.
Tun Daim Zainuddin, 80, who was appointed by Mahathir to head up a Council of Eminent Persons to advise the new government on how to meet its campaign pledges, found indications of multiple criminal breaches of trust based on his meetings with dozens of state institutions and government-linked companies. He will submit his findings to the premier.
“There are so many mini 1MDBs,” he said in a Sunday interview in Kuala Lumpur. “I’m surprised at the loss. I’m still gathering all the total. But it’s big. If you add it up, it’s big. Very big.”
Malaysia has been quick to revive an investigation into 1MDB -- the state-owned investment fund at the heart of a multi-billion dollar corruption scandal -- but authorities are finding the finish line moving farther away as signs point to wrongdoing that’s more widespread than previously known.
In the month since Mahathir’s surprise election, the authorities have questioned former premier Najib Razak and his wife, seized millions of dollars in cash, handbags and jewelry, and issued arrest warrants for people linked to the troubled state fund. Najib denies any wrongdoing.
‘Position of Trust’
Just last week, the government raised new questions over RM9.4bil of projects involving a unit of China National Petroleum Corp. and a company that Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng called an “offshoot” of 1MDB.
Read QuickTake Q&A: How Malaysia’s 1MDB Scandal Shook the Financial World
“They don’t understand that they are put there in a position of trust,” Daim said at his office. “And you have to make sure every single cent you spend is spent properly. There should be no abuse and you must account for every single cent.”
Daim has been a long-time confidante of Mahathir and was trusted by the prime minister to help steer the economy through troubled times. A U.K.-trained lawyer, Daim spent much of his early career in real estate and banking.
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