Skandal RM40 Juta: Ketua Pendakwa Hong Kong Sedia Buka Semula Kes

Ketua Pendakwa raya Hong Kong, Kevin Zervos sedia membuka semula kes siasatan terhadap skandal RM40 juta melibatkan Umno Sabah.

Dalam wawancara bersama Free Malaysia Today (FMT), Zervos berkata, beliau dan Suruhanjaya Bebas Menentang Rasuah Hong Kong (ICAC) mengalu-alukan bukti baru terhadap kes itu.

Katanya, kerajaan Malaysia sebelum ini memaklumkan ICAC bahawa wang itu untuk ‘sumbangan politik’ hingga memaksa ICAC menghentikan siasatan kerana di luar bidang kuasa mereka.

“Wang itu dikatakan untuk ‘sumbangan politik’, kami tidak diberi maklumat selain itu untuk meneruskan siasatan,” katanya dipetik.

Terdahulu, Zervos dalam emel kepada FMT, mengesahkan dana dalam akaun bank atas nama seorang warganegara Malaysia disyaki diwujudkan bagi pihak kerajaan Malaysia.

Beliau berkata, pihak berkuasa Hong Kong menyekat dana itu menjelang akhir 2008 manakala ICAC dan Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) menjalankan siasatan bersama.

Siasatan itu dijalankan untuk melihat sama ada berlaku pelanggaran terhadap Ordinan Pencegahan Rasuah Hong Kong.

“Kemudian, kerajaan Malaysia memaklumkan wang itu untuk sumbangan politik. Kerana tiada maklumat selain itu, tiada bukti untuk bawa kes ke peringkat seterusnya,” katanya.

Justeru, dana RM40 juta yang disekat kemudian diserah semula pada akhir 2011.

Sebelum ini, Michael Chia yang rapat dengan Ketua Menteri Sabah, Datuk Seri Musa Aman ditahan di Hong Kong berikutan disyaki terlibat dalam penggubahan wang haram RM40 juta.

Taikun balak itu menyatakan wang berkenaan milik Musa Aman tetapi pemimpin Umno terutama Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz mendakwa ia adalah dana untuk Umno Sabah.

KEADILAN kemudian mendedahkan Michael Chia menaja kenderaan mewah, Hummer kepada anak Nazri Aziz yang bermati-mati mempertahankan Michael Chia.

Dalam perkembangan berkaitan, Pengarah Strategi KEADILAN, Rafizi Ramli hari ini berlepas ke Hong Kong untuk memulakan proses permohonan membuka siasatan kes itu.

Hong Kong willing to re-open RM40m case

PETALING JAYA: Hong Kong’s chief public prosecutor today expressed his willingness to re-open the case involving the controversial RM40 million that the Malaysian government claims was a “political donation” to Sabah Umno.

Kevin Zervos, Hong Kong’s Director of Public Prosecutions, told FMT that his office would require fresh evidence to revisit the case.

He added that his office and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) would welcome information from anyone.

“In relation to this case, it was more of a jurisdictional matter,” he said. “Material that was obtained from Malaysia was that it was political donations. If anything comes up now to show that this wasn’t the case, the matter would definitely be looked into.”

Any additional information or evidence should be brought to the ICAC’s attention, he added.

Referring to the earlier investigation, he said the money “was claimed to be political donations. We didn’t have additional evidence that was forthcoming that would enable us to deal with it.”

He declined to comment when asked whether he meant that the Malaysian side was not cooperative in the investigations.

Earlier, in an email to FMT, Zervos confirmed that funds in bank accounts in the name of a Malaysian national were suspected to have been held on behalf of a Malaysian government official.

He said Hong Kong authorities withheld the funds towards the end of 2008 while the ICAC and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) conducted a joint investigation.

The investigations looked into suspected breaches of Hong Kong’s Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.

“Later in the investigation, information was supplied from Malaysia that the monies under restraint were political donations,” Zervos said. “As no further information or evidence was forthcoming with respect to the nature of the monies, there was insufficient evidence at that stage to take the case further.

“Accordingly, the restraint of the monies was lifted towards the end of 2011.”

Asked if he would consider the case closed, Zervos said the question was for the ICAC to answer.

He declined to comment when asked if he thought the investigation was adequate, or if there was anything to substantiate the claim that the funds were political donations.

On whether his office had the authority to call for further evidence, Zervos explained that in Hong Kong the prosecutors would guide enforcement authorities but would not take charge of investigations.

However, he said he was open to being questioned further, adding: “I firmly believe in being accountable. That’s a policy we have in Hong Kong.

When we make a decision about a matter, we explain it.”

Rafizi’s Hong Kong visit

Asked for his thoughts about PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli’s plan to travel to Hong Kong tomorrow, Zervos said: “I’ve made it very clear that if there is any further information or evidence that would assist us, of course the authorities here would receive and evaluate it and deal with it accordingly.”

Rafizi said today that he would meet with the ICAC Operations Review Committee as well as Hong Kong politicians. He will be travelling with PKR MPs William Leong (Selayang) and Hee Loy Sian (Petaling Jaya Selatan) and state assemblyman Chang Li Kang (Teja).

The purpose of the trip is to find out whether the Malaysian government stonewalled the ICAC’s investigation of timber tycoon Michael Chia, who was carrying the RM40 million, and to seek a re-opening of the 2008 case.

In 2008, news reports said Chia, a Sabah businessman, was arrested at Hong Kong airport on suspicion of trying to smuggle out Singapore currency worth RM40 million. He reportedly told ICAC that the money was meant for Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman.

In October this year, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz told Parliament that the money was political funding for Sabah Umno. He announced that both Hong Kong and Malaysian corruption authorities had closed the case.

Nazri disputed news reports about the case, saying Chia was never arrested by the ICAC. He also said the RM40 million seized from him was wired into an account and was not in the businessman’s possession.

Previously, it was also alleged that ICAC’s investigation had been dropped after three years because of a lack of cooperation by the Malaysian government.

It was also reported that leaked MACC files revealed that Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail had shelved files on the investigations and refused to prosecute Musa -FMT

PKR mahu kumpul bukti baru

PETALING JAYA: PKR akan menumpukan sepenuh perhatian untuk mengumpulkan bukti-bukti baru agar siasatan dapat dimulakan segera oleh Suruhanjaya Bebas Pencegahan Rasuah Hong Kong (ICAC) berhubung kes RM40 juta sumbangan politik untuk Umno Sabah.

Pengarah Strateginya, Rafizi Ramli berkata pihaknya menyambut baik kenyataan Ketua Pendakwaraya Hong Kong Kevin Zervos bahawa pihaknya sudi membuka semula siasatan kes itu yang melibatkan Ketua Menteri Sabah Datuk Seri Musa Aman dan ahli perniagaan Michael Chia jika ada bukti baru.

“Kenyataan Kevin Zervos mengesahkan pihak berkuasa Malaysia menghentikan siasatan terhadap Musa dan Michael Chia,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan media hari ini.

Rafizi mengulas perkara ini sambil merujuk kepada laporan portal berita Free Malaysia Today bertajuk “Hong Kong Willing To Re-Open Case RM40m” bertarikh 20 November 2012.

Menurutnya, dari laporan dan wawancara tersebut mengesahkan bahawa sama ada Suruhjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) Peguam Negara atau kedua-duanya sekali, yang memaklumkan kepada ICAC bahawa cek RM40 juta itu adalah sumbangan politik kepada Umno.

“Wang sebanyak RM40 juta itu memang dibekukan dalam sebuah akaun Michael Chia (walaupun namanya tidak disebut) dan disyaki pihak berkuasa Hong Kong disimpan bagi pihak Musa (walaupun namanya tidak disebut),” terang beliau.

Kata Rafizi, keterangan Kevin Zervos itu mengesahkan bahawa Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Mohamad Nazri Abdul Aziz tidak berterus terang di Dewan Rakyat baru-baru ini.

Beliau memaklumkan bahawa keputusan ICAC menghentikan siasatan adalah kerana ICAC mendapati cek RM40 juta tersebut adalah sumbangan kepada Umno.

Katanya, Nazri tidak pernah menyatakan kepada Dewan Rakyat bahawa ICAC terpaksa menghentikan siasatan kerana dimaklumkan oleh pihak berkuasa Malaysia bahawa cek RM40 juta itu adalah sumbangan politik.

“Apabila pihak berkuasa Malaysia yang memaklumkan perkara tersebut kepada ICAC, ia mengesahkan desas-desus selama ini bahawa ICAC terpaksa menghentikan siasatan kerana tidak mendapat kerjasama sepenuhnya dari pihak berkuasa Malaysia.

Malah, kenyataan Kevin Zervos itu adalah lebih berat, kerana ia membayangkan bahawa pihak berkuasa Malaysia (sama ada SPRM, Peguam Negara atau kedua-duanya sekali) bersekongkol untuk menghentikan siasatan terhadap Musa dan Michael Chia dengan memberikan maklumat yang tidak tepat mengenai cek RM40 juta itu tanpa siasatan yang telus dan bebas.

“Saya juga yakin pihak berkuasa Malaysia tidak pun menyerahkan bukti-bukti dan hasil siasatan yang menyokong kesimpulannya bahawa cek RM40 juta itu adalah sumbangan politik berpunca dari hasil yang sah di sisi undang-undang,” ujar Rafizi.