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Anonymous ID: 30d3ef April 2, 2019, 9:56 p.m. No.6027601   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Tokyo prosecutors readying new case against Ghosn over Oman payments

 

TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo prosecutors are preparing to build a fresh case against ousted Nissan Motor Co Ltd chairman Carlos Ghosn over suspect payments the automaker made to a business partner in Oman, Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Tokyo prosecutors are in discussions with the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office and others and plan to make a decision soon on whether to prosecute Ghosn on further charges of aggravated breach of trust, the newspaper said, citing sources involved in the case.

 

A spokesman for the Tokyo prosecutors office said he was not aware of any new investigation when contacted by Reuters.

 

Ghosn’s spokesman has previously said payments of $32 million made over nine years were rewards for the Oman firm being a top Nissan dealer. Such dealer incentives were not directed by Ghosn and the funds were not used to pay any personal debt, the spokesman said.

 

Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo in November and faces charges of financial misconduct and aggravated breach of trust over allegedly failing to report around $82 million in salary and temporarily transferring personal financial losses onto Nissan’s books during the financial crisis.

 

Ghosn, who previously headed the Renault-Nissan alliance, denies the charges. He was released on bail last month as he awaits trial.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nissan-ghosn/tokyo-prosecutors-readying-new-case-against-ghosn-over-oman-payments-report-idUSKCN1RF04B?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews

Anonymous ID: 30d3ef April 2, 2019, 11 p.m. No.6028131   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>8136

Najib's 1MDB trial to begin, giving possible boost to Mahathir

 

Malaysia's ex-PM expected to plead not guilty to corruption charges

 

KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE – The trial of Malaysia's former Prime Minister Najib Razak on charges related to 1Malaysia Development Berhad will begin on Wednesday, a legal drama that could provide a boost for Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad by reminding the country of the scandal that led to the historic regime change last May.

 

The trial is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. local time, where Najib will likely plead not guilty as he has previously stated. Najib will be Malaysia's first former prime minister to be tried in court for allegedly committing crimes.

 

Najib, 65, who became Malaysia's sixth prime minister on the same day in 2009 and served until 2018, faces a total of 42 charges, including money laundering and breach of trust. The first trial set for Wednesday covers about seven of them, all relating to SRC International, a former subsidiary of state-investment fund 1MDB, from which 42 million ringgit ($10 million) was allegedly misappropriated.

 

Over $4.5 billion was alleged to be have been siphoned from 1MDB. Prosecutors will attempt to show the scope of the far-reaching scandal.

 

1MDB was founded by Najib to fund the country's strategic projects. Since the scandal was revealed in 2015, the former prime minister has denied allegations of misappropriating funds. At the time, however, he sacked the attorney general and anti-graft commissioner who were investigating the case.

 

The scandal spurred Mahathir to come out of retirement and lead Malaysia's opposition coalition to a historic election victory last May. His Pakatan Harapan coalition campaigned on the promise of reopening investigations into 1MDB.

 

Since his return to office Mahathir has made good on his promise, forming a special investigative team that led to Najib's first indictment in July. The trial was originally set for February, but was postponed at the request of Najib's defense team.

 

The start of the trial could strengthen Mahathir, as the initial surge of support for him is ebbing as the public scrutinizes his other policy promises.

 

The government on Wednesday announced that it has agreed to sell a luxury yacht allegedly bought with money stolen from 1MDB to casino resort operator Genting Malaysia for $126 million. Attorney General Tommy Thomas said in a statement that this will be "the highest recovery to date for the government from the 1MDB scandals."