The Edge Financial Daily details alleged 1MDB fraud in possibly last report

KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 — In what it says may be its last report, The Edge Financial Daily published today another expose on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), this time detailing billionaire Low Taek Jho’s alleged role in the multibillion ringgit controversy.

The business paper currently under investigation for its previous articles on the scandal claimed that the US$1.83 billion (RM6.96 billion) that state-owned 1MDB had invested in Middle Eastern oil company PetroSaudi International (PSI) between 2009 and 2011 was a scheme to defraud Malaysia that involved Low.

“We have a public duty to find and report the truth. After this report, which could be our last, we will hand over everything we have to the authorities investigating 1MDB and assist in any way we can,” The Edge Financial Daily publisher said in the report on its front page.

“Our report is based on evidence corroborated by documents that include bank transfers and statements. There is no space to publish everything and, indeed, some material cannot be published. We will now be handing over these printed documents and the hard disk that contains them to the investigators,” the publisher added.

The Edge Financial Daily, is published by The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd of The Edge Media Group that also publishes The Edge Malaysia weekly.

The Home Ministry said on July 1 that a show-cause letter has been issued to The Edge over what Putrajaya deemed to be unverified news that was published by the business paper on debt-laden 1MDB.

The show-cause letter came after Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi declared that the federal government will go after The Edge for publishing what it considered unverified news on 1MDB’s aborted joint venture with Petrosaudi International.

Ahmad Zahid had said the authorities will investigate the business paper following the arrest of former PSI executive, Xavier Andre Justo, believed to be the source of the leaked documents on an abortive US$1.2 billion (RM4.5 billion) 1MDB-PetroSaudi venture from which hundreds of millions were allegedly siphoned out.

The Edge Financial Daily’s report today comes even as Putrajaya has blocked access to UK-based whistleblower site Sarawak Report, another website that has been reporting on 1MDB’s alleged financial mismanagement, pending the completion of an investigation on the state-owned fund.