Sunday, August 13, 2017

FBI fears for the safety of witnesses, including law enforcement personnel involved in the 1MDB CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

by Ganesh Sahathevan 



The following declaration sworn by FBI Special Agent Jill Enyart makes clear that the 1MDB theft is an ongoing criminal investigation.The FBI make clear that it  fears for the safety of witnesses, including law enforcement personnel involved in the  1MDB investigation.The declaration is attached to the recent DOJ stay application with regards its 1MDB theft related asset seizures.
END 



DECLARATION OF JILL ENYART

 I, Jill Enyart, declare and state as follows: 


1. I am a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”). I have read the foregoing Notice of Motion and Motion For Order Staying Civil Forfeiture Proceedings For All Purposes Except the Filing of Timely Claims and Answers, and know the contents thereof. The matters contained in the Motion are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. 



2. I am familiar with the allegations set out in the First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) in this action, and the scope and subject matter of the related, ongoing criminal investigation. The sources of my knowledge and information concerning the investigation are official files and records of the United States, publicly available files and historical information, information made known to me by other law enforcement officers, experts, and government lawyers, as well as my own personal involvement in the investigation, together with others, as a Special Agent of the FBI. 



3. The government commenced a criminal investigation of the events described in the FAC prior to the commencement of this and the related actions. The criminal investigation remains ongoing. 


4. The related criminal investigation is global in scope because the underlying crimes were committed over several years in numerous jurisdictions. Perpetrators, which includes both entities and individuals acting in individual and representative capacities, are believed to have committed violations of both U.S. and foreign laws. A significant amount of the evidence and Case 2:16-cv-05362-DSF-PLA Document 121 Filed 08/10/17 Page 21 of 23 Page ID #:1236 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 witnesses with knowledge of these violations are located in foreign jurisdictions, and will take time to pursue. 


5. I believe that disclosure of any facts beyond those set forth in the FAC, whether in response to discovery requests or otherwise, will have an adverse effect on the government’s ability to conduct the ongoing criminal investigation. Such disclosures are likely to reveal potential targets and subjects of the investigation and the investigative techniques that have been and will be used in the investigation. Such disclosures could result in the destruction of evidence, flight of potential subjects and targets, or the identification and intimidation of potential witnesses. In fact, potential witnesses with knowledge of the criminal conduct and other facts set forth in the FAC may live in jurisdictions where their safety and security could be in jeopardy if their identities are disclosed through civil discovery in this and the other related cases


6. In addition, proceeding with discovery in this and the related cases could lead to the disclosure of information relating to the sources of evidence from whom the government obtained evidence, including foreign jurisdictions. The disclosure of such information could prejudice those jurisdictions’ plans, jeopardize the safety of certain foreign law enforcement personnel and threaten their willingness or ability to cooperate with the government in its criminal investigation, thereby closing off sources of evidence of the criminal and other conduct set forth in the FAC. Case 2:16-cv-05362-DSF-PLA Document 

witnesses with knowledge of these violations are located in foreign jurisdictions, and will take time to pursue. 5. I believe that disclosure of any facts beyond those set forth in the FAC, whether in response to discovery requests or otherwise, will have an adverse effect on the government’s ability to conduct the ongoing criminal investigation. Such disclosures are likely to reveal potential targets and subjects of the investigation and the investigative techniques that have been and will be used in the investigation. Such disclosures could result in the destruction of evidence, flight of potential subjects and targets, or the identification and intimidation of potential witnesses. In fact, potential witnesses with knowledge of the criminal conduct and other facts set forth in the FAC may live in jurisdictions where their safety and security could be in jeopardy if their identities are disclosed through civil discovery in this and the other related cases. 

6. In addition, proceeding with discovery in this and the related cases could lead to the disclosure of information relating to the sources of evidence from whom the government obtained evidence, including foreign jurisdictions. The disclosure of such information could prejudice those jurisdictions’ plans, jeopardize the safety of certain foreign law enforcement personnel and threaten their willingness or ability to cooperate with the government in its criminal investigation, thereby closing off sources of evidence of the criminal and other conduct set forth in the FAC.
Attachments area

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Sirul Azhar Umar will be coming back to Malaysia to hang-Pointing fingers at Najib & Rosmah not likely to be believed, UNLESS he provides details of his funding

by Ganesh Sahathevan


'Flannel' From Australia's Immigration Department

While Sirul Azhar Umar contemplates his responses to Australian authorities in his bid to live in Australia a free man (with a million dollar home etc ) he might want to consider the implications of his sarong performance, where he declared that PM Najib had nothing to do with anything that concerned his predicament. He did say that there was a political conspiracy to topple Najib, but trying to convince Australian authorities that his former boss (he was Najib's bodyguard) would not be able to protect and defend him in Malaysia from Najib's enemies would be as useful as having Arul Kanda act in his defence.

This writer and others have already stated the obvious;that Sirul needs to come clean on who,what and why he was ordered to execute Altantuya Shaariibuu.However, things have moved on;and now Sirul needs not only reveal that information, but provide details of the funding directed to him and his associates ,and from whom. He needs to disclose every link in the chain if he is to believed.
END 





Sirul Azhar Umar has become hot property: Evidence that Jho Low may have created the market

by Ganesh Sahathevan
Evidence is emerging that someone in Taipei, Taiwan, has been informed of this writer’s queries concerning the matter of Sirul.The emergence of this evidence coincides with Sarawak Report’s revelation that Low Taek Jho, aka Jho Low, has sought 
refuge in Taiwan.   Given that Jho Low has been “tied to the 1 MDB inquiry”  a link between 1 MDB and and the matter of Sirul Azhar Umar may soon become apparent.
While in detention Sirul’s ability to receive any significant amount of cash  is non-existent.It is highly unlikely that he even has a bank account in Australia.The same can be said for his teenage son who remains in Australia. Even if released any receipt of funds on their part will be very closely scrutinized.
Consequently all this money or promise of money swirling around Sirul is indicative only of a presumed right to keep him silent.For so long as he remains in detention others can lay claim to that right,and trade it with anyone who is willing to pay. It appears that Jho Low created the market but it is unclear if he still has the finances to keep that market liquid. With accounts being frozen in Singapore and Malaysia it is likely that the market has dried up.Nevertheless, some may be living in hope.
While Sirul Azhar Umar   remains unrepresented those who have laid claim over him, or who have been reported to be his legal advisors   have refused to say who pays or has promised to pay for their services.
Nevertheless whatever is or was   on offer to guide  Sirul  through his troubles must be significant, for how else does one explain this fiercely possessive  reaction from  Christopher Levingston, an immigration lawyer who was asked to clarify his position vis a vis Sirul:
You have no standing nor do you have any legitimate interest in this matter.
Your attempts to interpose yourself and your strategy of “divide and rule” is not only unprofessional but also unethical.
END

ANZ's senior management actively lobbied Najib for investment approvals ; Najib used ANZ supervised accounts to launder stolen money,possibly DCNS bribes

by Ganesh Sahathevan


Mike Smith (ex-CEO) left and Chair David Gonsky

Readers attention is drawn to the fact that  Prime Minister, Najib Razak  is also Minister for Finance, responsible for granting ANZ the approval  it sought until recently to increase its stake in AMBank.
Readers are then referred to an earlier story on this blog 

Najib's other 1MDB,or DCNS money? USD 300 million which he did not deny receiving, but which the DOJ has not located. How much in Hong Kong, and is this a missing Scorpene link?

Readers should note that the transactions reported involving Najib Razak in the DCNS corruption scndal and 1MDB theft ,and his AMBAnk/ANZ accounts, go back to at least 2012, just months after NAjib dangled the carrot of a bigger AMBank stake.
END 




ANZ finds an unlikely ally at the top in Malaysia

Mar 8 2011 at 12:34 AM Updated Mar 8 2011 at 8:04 AM y Sarah Thompson and Jamie Freed


bFrom little things big things grow – until you hit a foreign ownership cap.
Some welcome news for ANZ Banking Group’s Asian strategy has emerged from Malaysia. The country’s Prime Minister, Najib Razak , has reportedly said he was open to allowing ANZ to increase its stake in Malaysian bank AmBank Group above the 30 per cent foreign ownership cap to 49 per cent.
Malaysia provides some of the highest returns on equity for banks anywhere in the world and ANZ has a toe hold with a 24 per cent stake in AmBank, the country’s fifth-largest lender.
ANZ has been looking at ways to either become bigger or get out of its minority holdings in Asian banks, and Najib’s comments provide a welcome sign that Asian countries may be looking to ease their rules to attract greater foreign investment.

Deutsche Bank yesterday said a greater stake in AmBank would be an attractive fit with ANZ’s Asian expansion strategy. Malaysia certainly ticks Asia chief Alex Thursby ’s boxes of growing fast while having lots of savings in its bank deposits. AmBank’s shares are also trading at an attractively low valuation at 1.8 times book value.


Buying another 25 per cent stake in the bank would cost ANZ about $1.5 billion assuming no takeover premium, Deutsche reckons. Given ANZ has about $3.5 billion in surplus capital this would not be a stretch.
Of course the downside is ANZ would still find itself as a minority shareholder in a bank, with no clear path to complete control.


The Australian Financial Review

Read more: http://www.afr.com/technology/technology-companies/anz-finds-an-unlikely-ally-at-the-top-in-malaysia-20110307-iu6x4#ixzz4NrcQUjFn


For Reference

ANZ's Secret 1MDB Sacking Spree... How Come Management Still Sit Pretty?
18 MAR 2016


There has been not a squeak from Australia’s banking regulators, prosecutors or politicians about Najib’s billions, handled by the ANZ predominantly owned AmBank in KL.
Whilst regulatory authorities across the globe have indicated that they are now closely studying this stunning scandal and banking heads have started to roll in the face of questioning by the Swiss, US and Singapore, Australia has said nothing.
Neither is it apparently doing anything about the shocking state of affairs.
Except, that Sarawak Report has now learnt that secretly, behind the scenes, several of AmBank’s more junior KL staff were summarily blamed and then sacked last year, just after the cat was let out of the bag by Sarawak Report about those multi-million dollar bank accounts in AmBank.
These included two minority race Senior Relationship Managers and several other more junior staff.
Mike Smith (ex-CEO) left and Chair David Gonsky
Mike Smith (ex-CEO) left and Chair David Gonsky
Is that supposed to be it?
Are these unfortunates, who have seen their careers destroyed, to carry all the blame?
Because, a major banking concern like ANZ and the regulators behind it, must surely know that global compliance requirements do not exonerate banks, who put the blame on junior staff for non-compliance of such magnitude, particularly with regard to the accounts of high-profile, politically exposed politicians such as a national Prime Minister?

Do ANZ do compliance?

Logos should inspire trust that action will be taken when things go wrong
Logos should inspire trust that action will be taken when things go wrong
The Australian banking concern ANZ is, of course, the major shareholder of AmBank, where Najib kept all his dodgy accounts, handling hundreds of millions of dollars and billions of ringgit.
It is, therefore, the most blatantly and obviously culpable of all the international banking institutions involved in this sorry saga.
Some of that money has been directly traced from the KWAP public pension fund cash, borrowed by the 1MDB subsidiary company SRC.  That cash flowed, according to MACC investigators, out of SRC and fairly directly into Najib’s AmBank accounts – to be spent on credit card bills and also million ringgit payments to political hangers on and other ‘recipients’, whom Najib plainly needed to satisfy.
Let us be clear, Najib has now, finally, fully admitted to all of the above.
His excuse, as explained by his compliant new Attorney General last month, was that he hadn’t realised that all this money which appeared in his account had come from SRC.
Even so, he spent it anyway!  A child would know that you don’t spend money that mistakenly arrives into your possession, but the Najib appointed AG, has scandalously “cleared” Najib on the basis of this preposterous excuse – and is now being challenged by the Malaysian Bar Association and others for doing so.

So why didn’t ANZ warn the PM he was spending SRC money?!

Observers in Malaysia and Australia have started to question what AmBank has been doing about all this shocking information?  Because, of course, very senior people at ANZ Bank must have known for years about these accounts, which the rest of Malaysia only discovered existed in July.
As one compliance expert confirmed to Sarawak Report:
“The boss of the bank [Mike Smith] would have known if a PM had such a big account.  The Risk Officer [Nigel Denby] should have done due diligence before. Banks have an obligation to create a specific profile for political people and if you have a customer with public responsibility you have to know where their money is coming from and you should have specific monitoring on these people.
It is not conceivable the Relationship Managers did not tell their boss. You have to take specific care on such accounts.  The senior people at the bank – it is not possible they did not know.  If they really didn’t know then they didn’t know their job.”
This self evident observation makes it clear that if Najib was spending public money that he was unaware was arriving into his accounts, then any half-functioning banking institution should long since have warned him of the fact… because the bosses of the bank ought to have been alerted to the huge sums, established their origin and questioned the account holder about what was going on!
What was so wrong at AmBank/ ANZ that this was not happening?
AmBank is majority owned by ANZ, which, as part of its agreement with the KL subsidiary, seconds all the major office holders to the bank.  Sarawak Report and others have already pointed out that the AmBank Group Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer were both from ANZ.  The latter remains in her post, despite having presided over this entire period of suspicious, multi-million dollar activity in Najib’s accounts.
Former AmBank CEO left early April last year - the CFO, Mandy Smith remains in post
Former AmBank CEO left early April last year – the CFO, Mandy Smith remains in post
The AmBank Group CEO, however, returned to Australia in April of last year, before his term was out and shortly after the 1MDB/ PetroSaudi scandal was published by Sarawak Report. Several observers have questioned whether this was in response to the 1MDB imbroglio and Najib’s suspicious related spending – and indeed whether a fine exacted by Malaysia’s own Central Bank was likewise a connected matter?
However, ANZ has formally retaliated by issuing a statement denying that the decision of Ashok Ramamurthy to return to Australia had anything to do with this scandal, citing personal reasons instead.  Meanwhile, no explanation has so far been provided by this public Australian bank for the fine exacted by Bank Negara.
By this stage, shareholders must be wondering why, if  this executive did not resign because of Najib’s accounts, he did not do so?
And why are other senior figures, who must have known about these accounts, still sitting in their jobs, whilst the junior staff reporting to them have been sacked?

Risk Management

There are several senior figures, earning top dollar at ANZ Bank, who had to have known about the massive, game-changing accounts belonging to Najib Razak in their bank.  These include ex-CEO Mike Smith, who resigned in September last year. According to his written accolades he had built business at the bank by focusing on none other than its South East Asian accounts, which purportedly did extremely well:
Spot on the money - but who owned these profitable accounts nurtured by Smith? Did he not know?
Spot on the money – but who owned these profitable accounts nurtured by Smith? Did he not know?
Mike Smith departed, just as the storm started swirling around the region’s most embarrassing financial scandal to do with his bank.  However, his successor, the former Chief Financial Officer, Shayne Elliot, has certainly done nothing to open up about his bank’s involvement.
Not surprising, since he was there in the middle of it all.  How could he, any less than Smith, not have known?  And why is he not being bitten in the butt this very moment by Australia’s regulators, in order to explain the situation and do a proper due diligence on what has been going on?
There is another character, whom banking insiders have pointed to as a key figure, whose job was solely and entirely supposed to be to prevent exactly what happened with this politically connected account.  This is the British national Nigel Denby, who acts as AmBank’s Chief Risk Officer, based in Hong Kong – also seconded from ANZ.
How come Nigel knew not?
How come Nigel knew not – since he was there throughout Najib’s phenomenal banking activities?
It would appear that either Nigel spends all day doing something other than his job and had not checked the figures coming out of KL or where those profits originated from, or else he knew.  Alternatively, are the suggestions correct that he knew, but didn’t tell his own boss Mike Smith?
In which case, what did Mike Smith himself do all day to not notice what his Chief Risk Officer was up to with these high rolling accounts?
Finally, but not least, what is the top cheese in charge of the Board of this bank, David Gonski, doing – apparently just sitting there with all this scandal swamping out from underneath him?
The ball is now in the court of Australia’s regulators and political establishment, which for months appear to have been looking the other way on all matters relating to their connections to Malaysia’s extraordinary political scandals.
Does Australia really plan to just sit there and do nothing (except keep Sirul quiet) in the swiftly retreating hope that this whole embarrassing story just goes away?

1MDB defaulted, and must pay default interest:IPIC

Regulatory Story
Go to market news sectionView chart   Print
RNS
IPIC GMTN Limited  -  61HK   

UPDATE ON SETTLEMENT WITH 1MDB AND MOF INC.

Released 09:33 11-Aug-2017

RNS Number : 7743N
IPIC GMTN Limited
11 August 2017
 
International Petroleum Investment Company PJSC - Update on Settlement with 1MDB and MoF Inc.

Further to the announcement of 8 August 2017 (RNS Number 3932N), International Petroleum Investment Company PJSC (IPIC) has now received the  funds required by 12 August 2017 for the extension agreed with Minister of Finance (Incorporated) Malaysia (MoF Inc.) and 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) to be effective. Accordingly, MoF Inc. and 1MDB now have until 31 August 2017 to complete the performance of the payment obligations that were initially due to be performed by 31 July 2017 under the Settlement and the Consent Award and to pay default interest on the delayed payment.

For further information, please contact:

International Petroleum Investment Company PJSC
P.O. Box 45005, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Telephone:
+971 2 413 0000
Fax:
+971 2 413 0001
Email:
media@mubadala.ae

           
                       
                       

This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
 
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Friday, August 11, 2017

China lobbyist Paul Keating as a proxy for China's policy on North Korea:China wants North Korea left alone, so that China can rely on North Korea to keep the US in check

by Ganesh Sahathevan


Image result for keating china


As he has before,former PM Paul Keating often reveals more than he should when speaking on behalf of his masters. So it was in 1993 when he stupidly made public the Clinton Administration's views on Mahathir Moahamd (albeit ,possibly, in more colourful terms,which was probably what the US intended) and then again more recently when he revealed China's plans for the South China Sea and Eastern Europe.
He seems here to have done it again, where his main point , probably reflecting his current paymaster China's view, is  that:
a) The West must not try to deprive North Korea of its nuclear weapons. 
b) Doing so will make North Korea unstable, which will  make South Korea open to attack

c) That the best policy is some form of detente, which the West had with the Soviet Union,which will allow North Korea to retain (and  keep developing) its nuclear capability.

Of course, it will then follow that China will retain a capability, via North Korea, to keep the United States, Japan and South Korea, and all their allies in the Pacific off-balance as and when the need arises, easing the way for Chinese adventures in the Pacific ,and the South China Sea.

Keating has not the brains to conceive any of this.
He is clearly reading from a script given him.

END


 


Paul Keating: North Korea could collapse if it gives up nuclear weapons

James Massola


Fergus Hunter




Paul Keating has warned that North Korea will never abandon its nuclear weapon program and that this new reality will have to be addressed in the same way as the west sought to contain the former Soviet Union.

The former prime minister, one of Australia's most-respected foreign policy thinkers and a strong advocate for a more independent foreign policy, has disagreed strongly with the language and approach being taken by the US President Donald Trump towards the rogue state.


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Trump ratchets up rhetoric towards North Korea

US President Trump doubled down on his inflammatory 'fire and fury' warning to North Korea, saying maybe he had not been tough enough in the face of the rising threat.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump reiterated his bellicose warning to North Korea, suggesting that his threat to unleash "fire and fury" may not have gone far enough.

"Maybe it wasn't tough enough," Trump said during a lengthy exchange with reporters at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

RELATED ARTICLES


Kim Beazley: why we are still technically at war in Korea


Australia will join the conflict if North Korea attacks the US: Malcolm Turnbull

Mr Keating said his criticism could be extended to Australia's pledge to enter any potential conflict between the US and North Korea. He also disagreed with former prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott that Australia should pursue a missile defence system against North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missiles.

His comments about the growing tensions on the Korean peninsula come on the same day that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declared Australia would assist America if it was attacked by North Korea.


"If there is an attack on the United States by North Korea, then the ANZUS treaty will be invoked and Australia will come to the aid of the United States," Mr Turnbull said. This would be only the second time the ANZUS treaty had been invoked.




Speaking ahead of a national security briefing with Defence Minister Marise Payne and Defence Force chief Mark Binskin, Mr Turnbull highlighted the UN Security Council's recent imposition of harsher sanctions on North Korea which, significantly, were backed by China and Russia.
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"As I discussed with Vice-President Pence last night [Thursday], both the United States and Australia are committed to resolving this situation on the Korean Peninsula, to bringing the North Korean regime to its senses through diplomatic and economic means. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the United States."

US President Donald Trump has threatened to unleash "fire and fury" on the rogue state and the North Korean regime has, in turn, warned it would attack the US Pacific territory of Guam, home to a major airforce base.

Mr Keating decided to speak publicly after being contacted by Fairfax Media and his views will be expanded in a major essay for a new magazine, Australian Foreign Affairs, to be published in October.

"I have long believed, especially after the unprovoked Western attack on Iraq and the ransacking of the Gaddafi regime in Libya, that North Korea would not desist from the full development of its nuclear weapons program, despite threats and sanctions from the West and even from China," he said

"I said in April, we should regard North Korea as a full and capable nuclear weapons state – a state that would, in future, need to be contained, in the way the Soviet Union was contained during the Cold War. Developments since April have only confirmed my view."

"More than that, it may be, that because the development of nuclear weapons in North Korea has, in a sense, become the raison d'etre of the state, were Kim Jong-Un and his generals to agree to the West's demands, they may not politically survive that acquiescence."
SH

"The moral in this is that all nuclear proliferation is bad and dangerous, particularly in the hands of outlier regimes like North Korea. We knew this from the moment the Manhattan Project succeeded in 1945."

When asked if a missile shield was an option that Australia should pursue to protect the mainland, Mr Keating's response was blunt.

"I think this is more than debatable. The offending missiles would approach their targets at something like Mach 20, a phenomenal speed. We could never know, until the fatal event, whether a missile defence system would effectively work, or work in respect of each and every missile," he said.

"A more worldly and competent foreign and defence policy is by far the preferred first line of defence – rather than the default position of relying on expensive but problematic hardware."

Mr Turnbull also disagreed with Mr Abbott and Mr Rudd - who have both told Fairfax Media in the last four weeks that Australia should pursue missile defence - on the need for such a shield.

He said on Friday the current advice from Defence was that the terminal high altitude area defence [THAAD] system "is designed to provide protection for relatively small areas against short to intermediate range missiles".

Former US Ambassador Kim Beazley said the prime minister had responded to a hypothetical situation when discussing whether to invoke the ANZUS alliance and not "an automatic commitment" but is "as close to automatic as we can get".

We have a commitment there which is as close to automatic as we can get.

"It does not arise from the ANZUS alliance but from the United Nations. We are still technically at war on the Peninsula but we are signatories to an Armistice, agreed with the UN," he said.

Greens leader Richard Di Natale said "the last thing we need here is a Prime Minister backing an unhinged and paranoid leader into a conflict that could potentially end life on Earth as we know it".

He called on Mr Turnbull to tell the President to "back off".

"If there was an ever a clearer example of why Australia needs to ditch the US alliance and forge an independent, non-aligned foreign policy, this is it. Malcolm Turnbull now needs to pick up the phone, he needs to talk to Donald Trump and urge him to de-eascalate."

Defence analysts believe North Korea's longest-range missiles could reach Australia. Foreign Minster Julie Bishop has said North Korea's ICBMs pose an "existential threat" to Australia, though we are not a primary target.

The US, Japan, western Europe, Israel and other nations have deployed missile defence.

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Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Sirul Azhar Umar will be coming back to Malaysia to hang -Australia need not wait for Malaysia to seek extradition

by Ganesh Sahathevan

'Flannel' From Australia's Immigration Department
It has been reported by The Australian that Sirul Azhar Umar "has been formally notified by Immigration and Border Protection that his ­application for a protection visa is likely to be denied on the ground he committed a non-political crime before entering Australia in October 2014."
The finding that he committed a non-political crime before entering Australia means that he cannot be considered a refugee and would have to be deported to Malaysia.Australia will not have to wait for an extradition application from Malaysia.
That he will hang when he returns is not necessarily an obstacle,for that is merely a convention or policy, against which Australian authorities have to weigh keeping Sirul in permanent detention, which is not generally possible under Australian laws.
Sirul may appeal the decision, but the chances of success are not good.
END

References

Solving the problem of Sirul Azhar-Can Australia refer the murder of Altantuya Shaaribuu to the International Criminal Court?
by Ganesh Sahathevan
The matter of Sirul Azhar drags on,with the Australian Government still clueless as to what to do with a man who can look forward to spending the rest of his life at the Villawood Detention Centre.
Australia needs to do something,  for it cannot keep Sirul detained indefinitely. On the other hand,freeing him into the local community is not an option. Could that something be a referral to International Criminal Court in Rome? While the murder Sirul Azhar has been convicted to hang for was committed in Malaysia Malaysia is not a signatory to tthe Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court., but Australia is.
Sirul is now in Australian custody and he is claiming that he is innocent of the charge. Australia will not return him to Malaysia because of popular objection to the death penalty,so Australia has effectively taken complete responsibility for him. Re-trying Sirul in Australia is not practical ,but however the ICC may have the physical and legal resources to do so. ICC intervention,based on a referral from Australia,  may be the only practical way of resolving the impasse.
END
References
A. Referrals, analyses and investigations
Any State Party to the Rome Statute can request the Office of the Prosecutor to carry out an investigation. A State not party to the Statute can also accept the jurisdiction of the ICC with respect to crimes committed in its territory or by one of its nationals, and request the Office of the Prosecutor to carry out an investigation. The United Nations Security Council may also refer a situation to the Court.



‘Flannel’ From Australia’s Immigration Department

Sarawak Report suggests that striving to tell the truth, rather than sticking to what is convenient, should be a golden rule for public servants and their political masters. Not only because it is right, but because it is awfully embarrassing to be caught in a cover-up.
The Australian Department of Immigration and Border Controls has just proved the point, having exposed itself to ridicule and disappointment in Malaysia, which will reflect on its reputation in Australia also.
This is because it has just issued a nonsensical statement to the ABC programme Four Corners, for no apparent good reason, except to perhaps protect certain individuals, who may have assisted in the making of a series of videos featuring Sirul Azhar Umar, which was plainly recorded within the Villawood detention centre earlier this year.
Protestors at Villawood - normally dressed like Sirul
The statement from the Department persists in claiming that, contrary to all the evidence, it was “not possible” for the video to have been recorded while Sirul was in detention.
This, says the department, is because of the ‘flannel’ behind him and the clothes he is wearing, which could not possibly have been smuggled into the centre.
So, what is so significant about Sirul’s perfectly ordinary attire and his sarong hanging up behind him in front of the window that he could not possibly have had these possessions in his room?
Detainees wear everyday clothes at Villawood, not striped pyjamas or orange jumpsuits – so have the officials of the Department of Immigration seriously investigated all of Sirul’s clothing of the past year, in order to definitively rule out this particular set of shirt and slacks?
And did they not recognise a classic Malay sarong when they saw one, thinking it to be a  ‘flannel backdrop’ instead?

Get a better translation

Minister Peter Dutton, why the dogged denials?
However, it is Sirul’s own words spoken in Malay, which confirm without doubt that the video was recent.
He referred directly to a ‘recent’ press statement given by his two UMNO lawyers in KL, Kamarul Kamaruddin and Hasnal Merican, who had updated the media on his immigration status several months after his detention.
That statement was given in December 2015 and there had been no equivalent earlier press statement given by these two layers in KL in the period before his arrest in Australia, discussing his immigration requests or anything else.
Neither had Sirul hired a legal and immigration team to pursue this immigration request prior to his arrest.
Below is a translation of what Sirul plainly said in the video and it places the timing straight after the press statement the two lawyers gave on December 31st:
“I wish to clarify and further comment with respect to the media statement made by Datuk Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin and Hasnal Rezua Merican in Kuala Lumpur recently.
Immediately after the statements were made, a few days after that, there are still a number of certain parties who have taken the opportunity to contact me here.
I would like to clarify here that I am not interested at all to make any further statements after this.
As we all know, Datuk Kamarul himself has announced that certain processes, including the Immigration process, the legal process that continue to take place here that requires me to devote.  So, I am devoting the whole of my time, my energy to settle here as per my application process to settle here..”
Yet, in the face of this, the communications team representing Immigration & Borders Minister Peter Dutton claim that they have had two Malay translators examine the material, who have assured them that Sirul’s references were of a “generalised nature.. including references to immigration and legal processes [which] are consistent with those underway immediately prior to the detainee’s entry to detention”.
They should get a third, more accurate translator and further explain how Sirul was pursuing an immigration case before his arrest, when his immigration and legal advisors only started off the process after his detention?
The facts of the matter are that Sirul was detained on 20th January 2015 after he failed to gain an extension to his tourist visa. It was only on the day he was detained that he first made a verbal request for a protection visa, which he is now attempting to achieve.
He did not obtain lawyers until later, when the UMNO team was sent from KL and hired local representation on his behalf, using sources of money which have yet to be explained. Therefore, Sirul could not have referred to lawyers speaking publicly about his immigration issues before being arrested and detained – there were no lawyers at that time and no case underway.

‘Conspiracy to topple Najib’

A further point has been widely made about this series of video episodes (released very much in the telling genre of a classic Ramesh Rao disinformation campaign), which is that the substance focuses entirely on the perception of a “plot” against the Prime Minister, a concept which did not emerge until after the exposes over 1MDB, which happened several weeks after Sirul had been detained.
“I mean what is the importance for some interested people to want to topple a person?
Sirul announces in the 3rd ‘episode’, prompting many to question how Sirul acquired such foresight about a debate that would only be raging months after his arrest and, if so, why he waited so long to release his supportive comments of the boss he once attacked for making him a scapegoat?

No rules against making prison videos

Altogether it seems entirely idiotic, therefore, for the Department of Immigration to be sticking doggedly to a nonsensical argument, for no apparent good reason beyond the fact that officials plainly still believe they can stone wall further examination.
This is not least because in a separate statement to Australia’s 60 Minutes programme, who are also on the story, officials from the very same department made clear that there is no rule preventing Sirul making such a recording if he wants to:
“In another letter to 60 Minutes, the Australian Border Force said immigration detainees are free to contact any media representative.
“People in detention have access to computers, the internet, social media and telephones and there are no restrictions on who they may contact,” [Malaysiakini]
In which case, why all the fuss and denial by the Australian authorities?
To anyone looking at these video offerings, it seems evident that Sirul set himself on a chair in front of a window with a sarong across to block out the light and then spoke looking down into a camera on an open computer in front of him, as in a typical Skype call.
The Ramesh Rao team with Lester - another paid video episode confession maker
All Malaysia has concluded that this was just another Ramesh Rao production, using a paid confession-maker reciting from a pre-prepared script, with the sole purpose of exonerating Rao’s hero Najib Razak.
The same technique of chopping the ‘confessions’ into episodes is also familiar to those who have already laughed at the ‘Lester Melanyi files’… even up to the failure to deliver on promised final bombshell episodes, such as the missing ‘part 4″ of the Sirul production, which the makers have evidently bottled out of releasing.
The same Ramesh line up - this time the confession maker was Selvi Bala
So, why are the Australian authorities working so hard to box themselves into a corner to deny that these videos were filmed with Sirul in detention, once the UMNO legal team had moved in to control and pay off Sirul, when they themselves have admitted that he was perfectly entitled to make such a video if he wanted to?
Is it because the Department does not want to open up and address the wider concerns about the blatant and illicit Malaysian political interference in the handling of Sirul’s legal affairs in Australia?
Altantuya was murdered by Sirul - who originally attempted to blackmail Najib before changing his tune in jail
Or, is it also because certain quarters in Australia still cling to working with Najib, despite this inappropriate and illegal interference in a troubling murder case, in order to achieve their separate deportation objectives?
These, of course, involve sending other asylum seekers over to indefinite detention in Malaysia, where Najib has kindly agreed to take them off Australia’s hands.
BN has an appalling recent record on people trafficking; it has been widely admonished also for its failures to observe UN refugee guidelines and for widespread abuse of foreign workers.
Nevertheless, it appears that some in Australia remain willing to join the ranks of opportunists ready to bend the rules over Najib Razak, in return for favours rendered.


AUG
19

Sirul Azhar Umar has become hot property: Evidence that Jho Low may have created the market

by Ganesh Sahathevan
Evidence is emerging that someone in Taipei, Taiwan, has been informed of this writer’s queries concerning the matter of Sirul.The emergence of this evidence coincides with Sarawak Report’s revelation that Low Taek Jho, aka Jho Low, has sought 
refuge in Taiwan.   Given that Jho Low has been “tied to the 1 MDB inquiry”  a link between 1 MDB and and the matter of Sirul Azhar Umar may soon become apparent.
While in detention Sirul’s ability to receive any significant amount of cash  is non-existent.It is highly unlikely that he even has a bank account in Australia.The same can be said for his teenage son who remains in Australia. Even if released any receipt of funds on their part will be very closely scrutinized.
Consequently all this money or promise of money swirling around Sirul is indicative only of a presumed right to keep him silent.For so long as he remains in detention others can lay claim to that right,and trade it with anyone who is willing to pay. It appears that Jho Low created the market but it is unclear if he still has the finances to keep that market liquid. With accounts being frozen in Singapore and Malaysia it is likely that the market has dried up.Nevertheless, some may be living in hope.
While Sirul Azhar Umar   remains unrepresented those who have laid claim over him, or who have been reported to be his legal advisors   have refused to say who pays or has promised to pay for their services.
Nevertheless whatever is or was   on offer to guide  Sirul  through his troubles must be significant, for how else does one explain this fiercely possessive  reaction from  Christopher Levingston, an immigration lawyer who was asked to clarify his position vis a vis Sirul:
You have no standing nor do you have any legitimate interest in this matter.
Your attempts to interpose yourself and your strategy of “divide and rule” is not only unprofessional but also unethical.
END
Posted 19th August 2015 by Ganesh Sahathevan
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