KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Tawfiq Ayman, husband of former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz, is being investigated over 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds he allegedly received from fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crimes Investigation Department director Comm Datuk Zainuddin Yaacob said the case is being investigated under Section 4 (1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
“This is in relation to funds linked to 1MDB that he received in his bank account in Singapore,” he said in a statement today.
Section 4 (1)(a) states that any person deemed to have committed a money-laundering offence will face up to 15 years in prison and fined not less than five times the sum or value of the proceeds received from the unlawful activities or RM5 million, whichever is higher.
Zainuddin said since the case also involves statements that are recorded overseas, the police will take follow-up action under the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 2002 to obtain a statement from Tawfiq.
“As such, we wish to advise the public not to make any statement or speculation through any platform until police investigation is completed and subsequently referred to the Attorney-General's Chambers for a decision.”
Last December, reports surfaced alleging that some of Zeti’s family members had received tens of millions of ringgit from fugitive businessman Jho Low, who is alleged to be the mastermind behind the 1MDB scandal.
It was later reported that Tawfiq and his two sons had admitted to knowing about the money in bank accounts in Singapore in statutory declarations signed last March. The trio purportedly agreed to a settlement with the Singapore government to return the money to 1MDB.
Zeti, however, denied the allegations that she and her family were beneficiaries of 1MDB funds.
Last week, The Edge cited documents as saying that the Singapore police had alerted Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) about suspicious transactions from Jho Low to a company owned by Zeti’s husband and son, Iron Rhapsody Ltd, in 2015 and 2016, when she was still governor.
According to the report, the transfers involving US$16.22 million (RM65.7 million now) took place in 2008 and 2009 and were flagged to BNM when the Commercial Affairs Department began investigating 1MDB-linked transactions. – The Vibes, March 3, 2021
