KUALA LUMPUR: First thing first, the US Attorney-General’s much-anticipated press conference just before noon in the Washington D.C. yesterday sounded unusually political.
It was supposed to be a PC to announce that the US Justice Department has filed a civil complaint seeking to forfeit and recover more than US$1 billion in assets associated with an “international conspiracy” to launder funds allegedly stolen from 1MDB.
But wheeling out five senior US officials for the PC beamed worldwide over a civil case - not even crime or terrorism-related, where no courts have yet said anyone is proven guilty, and telling the world about how to conduct financial affairs, looked a bit overdone.
To be sure, the DOJ case is a civil case, not a criminal case against the people and the government of Malaysia, but against the assets (mostly property) in the US by three individuals.
The Attorney General spent much of her presentation making it clear that the intention of this action is to send a message to the world, that improper use of its banking system would not be tolerated.
We are not so sure of the motivation of the DOJ in this particular case but was it acting on misinformation fed by some bloggers or detractors of the Malaysian government?
The question is why civil case, and not criminal indictment if the DOJ had solid evidence of the wrongdoings. Perhaps the burden of proof is less onerous via the civil route.
Basically the US is pouring a bucket of allegations over the defendants, and telling them they have to prove it is wrong or else they lose the assets which are under US jurisdiction. After months of intense probe, could be an easy way out for the DOJ.
The forfeiture process is indeed time-consuming. Firstly, a court must ensure that no other parties have a valid claim to the properties.
Once the ownership status is sorted out, the court then must rule whether the money used to purchase those assets is derived from legal or illegal means. If illegally funded, only then the DOJ can seize the assets.
The DOJ told the world last night that the assets they want to seize belonged to 1MDB. Is this the case?
The huge sums and movements refer to operations in the Middle East have never been under the control of 1MDB or Malaysia. Where 1MDB has refused to repay a debt to a UAE company, it has not been because it couldn’t, but in order to bring to court disputes all of which arise from confusing and reportedly improper dealings in the UAE, not Malaysia.
As to the disputed funds originating from UAE, which the US wishes to seize: It is clear that the disputed funds relate to money flows outside Malaysia, and outside 1MDB’s businesses. The US Government should remember that individuals and companies are innocent unless proven guilty.