Swiss 1MDB Prosecutors Spear Tarek Obaid's Key Defence (that he was instructed by his King) With His Own Words...

After a fractious trial not only have the Swiss prosecutors demanded the maximum sentence be passed on the two PetroSaudi directors but they want them locked up immediately on the grounds they are a flight risk!.....

"It was our money. If the Saudi government wanted to do it this way, so be it." Obaid stuns the Swiss court with his claim that it was Saudi Arabia that had sanctioned Jho Low's $150 million in kickbacks which were paid to him by Good Star Limited out of stolen 1MDB money.....

The PetroSaudi boss and alleged mega-fraudster, Tarek Obaid, spent last week arguing in the Swiss Court that he needed protection from Saudi Arabia. A rebuttal by the court has undermined his story....

It would appear that the alleged Saudi fraudster and money launderer, Tarek Obaid, was in fact some sort of Gulf version of 007: a secret agent acting on the direct instructions of the former King of Saudi Arabia.....

For a mere 5% levy to the state and its people the timber giant Samling plans to convert poorly producing licensed plantation areas into a 'profit for doing nothing' carbon credit scheme. The GPS government has also offered the company a 30 year extension to just 'sit back and earn'. How come?.....

In high finance you get used to big sums and myriad deals. This could be why Patrick Mahony seemed to struggle to remember the purported $700 million loan he organised to be 'paid back' by 1MDB on the first day of the so-called Joint Venture project where he was the Chief Investment Officer ......

Drama as the first day of the Petrosaudi trial extended past 10pm at night amidst unprecedented scenes as the defendants' lawyers bombarded the Swiss Federal Court with protests and demands for secrecy, claiming an 'unfair' prosecution against their wealthy clients.....

PetroSaudi boss Tarek Obaid allegedly squandered the criminal gains from Malaysia's development fund on the worlds most expensive Sun-Drop Yellow Diamond, Philippe Patek watches, super yacht hires, a real estate empire and global investments including Silicon Valley shares. At last the details emerge in court ......

PetroSaudi boss Tarek Obaid allegedly squandered the criminal gains from Malaysia's development fund on the worlds most expensive Sun-Drop Yellow Diamond, Philippe Patek watches, super yacht hires, a real estate empire and global investments including Silicon Valley shares. At last the details emerge in court ......

"This egregious act of judicial overreach poses a grave threat to investigative journalism and media freedom in Malaysia by preserving the culture of fear for journalists and preventing these agents of democracy who serve to inform the public from carrying out their duties. ...."

Timber and plantation licences were granted to crony companies on the excuse of progress. The disastrous state of the the interior and neglect of the impoverished peoples whose lands have been wreaked tells a very different story.....

Newly enriched and waging outsized 'kingmaker' influence, Sarawak wants more autonomy. All well and good, but first show the state is prepared to take care of its marginalised people and deal with decades of ingrained graft.....

Yet another bank has been fined by the Swiss authorities for failing to flag suspicious transactions relating to the laundering of monies stolen from 1MDB. The revelations from the case have raised new questions about the role of the now notorious FBC Media and a Malaysian director of that company in assisting the fraudulent enterprise...

As thousands of tons of timber have hurtled destructively down river in Kapit over the past few days, provoked by heavy rains, a troubling set of unconvincing denials and changing stories have issued from the Forestry Department. Is there a reluctance to acknowledge uncomfortable truths about logging in the vicinity of the 'totally protected' wildlife sanctuary up river from the site?.........

As the next set piece trial prepares to open on 1MDB in Switzerland new details are already starting to emerge about the role played by the PetroSaudi joint venture directors in the heist and what happened to the money they allegedly stole...

In the wake of the final passing of Sarawak's strongman, Abdul Taib Mahmud, the Swiss NGO have issued their own tribute in the form of a documentary about his deeds. The Rainforest Tribunal was made in answer to the defamation lawsuit issued by Taib's family members who have objected to the NGO's claims about the Governor's unexplained wealth and how they benefitted.....

Time to address former Governor Taib Mahmud's real legacy, namely his billionaire's hoard of disputed cash and assets, misappropriated thanks to his tragic record of abuse of power, maladministration and railroading of the rights of the people of Sarawak....

International press freedom groups have rallied to support the Editor of Sarawak Report in the face of a bizarre two year jail sentence issued in absentia by a magistrates court in Terengganu for referring to the local Sultanah in a book about 1MDB....

Is this a desperate measure to keep the Sarawak Report author out of Malaysia or the start of a new attempt to persuade INTERPOL to help incarcerate her in Malaysia for a 'defamation' that never was?.....

As uncertainties fly amidst official silence and the leakage of extraordinary evidence and pictures, some of which are now confirmed, there is one clear demand that should be made FREEZE ALL TAIB ASSETS!....

POLICE RAID DEMAK JAYAH - As the Sarawak Police Issue threats to take action against Sarawak Report over 'fake news', Taib Mahmud's family are circulating the police report on which that 'fake news' was based and demanding action to rescue the former Governor from the clutches of his wife.....

TAIB EXCLUSIVE -A full blown family drama has now developed behind the scenes complete with police reports, allegations of a hospital abduction and a shocking ban against visits by his own children or family members to the now plainly dying former Governor Taib Mahmud ....

Did Najib and his lawyers shoot themselves in the foot by pulling their half-baked royal favour in advance of a far bigger sentence now in prospect over 1MDB? Despite the popular fury they will not be happy either. The all important waiver of guilt they had requested was rebuffed at the highest level, along with hopes of instant freedom......

Someone seems to be making major moves to leave Demak Jaya, the private home of the now ex-Governor Taib Mahmud. With still no news of his state of health the question is who is leaving and who will remain?........

Originally planned for February the much delayed prosecution of PetroSaudi's directors over 1MDB is now scheduled to start on April 2nd in the Swiss courts. That's just two weeks before the company's former COO, Rick Haythornthwaite, is due to become the Chairman of one of the UK's top banks. It should leave plenty of room for embarrassment as observers ask whether he was a complicit or merely an incompetent COO? ......

A new battleground has opened up between the Sarawak political establishment and native communities with the announcement of new 'green' dam projects which have prompted a sudden rush to survey and extinguish native land rights in Baram......

Almost ten years after the world was alerted to the Heist of the Century Swiss prosecutors have finally brought to trial two nationals identified at the heart of the conspiracy by Sarawak Report. Whistleblower Xavier Justo has called it an opportunity to show the world that Switzerland is "no longer a harbour for stolen money"........

The plans for an eco-city at Nusantara on the island of Borneo is fraught with environmental risk of global significance. Enthusiasts must hesitate from rushing in the name of progress where scientific experts would fear to tread ..

Sarawak Cable's new "White Knight partner" has been issuing legal warnings to media seeking to research the company. Serendib Capital announced a plan to inject RM250 million to 'resuscitate' the company which sent share prices rocketing after being rock bottom......

Hammered for damages over a contested defamation claim in Malaysia, Sarawak Report has just been honoured with a major award from a global anti-corruption platform supported by the UN for its reporting and exposure of 1MDB.....

Sarawak Cable was the centre of controversy a decade back as an emblem of the self-dealing management of the state by former chief minister and present governor Abdul Taib Mahmud. He liked to be called the 'CEO of the State' and handed the massive Bakun cable project to a company owned by his son. That company is now apparently failing badly....

The Appeal Court has issued an award for costs of RM120,000 and damages of RM300,000 against the author of The Sarawak Report and two fellow defendants. This amounts to a thousand times less than the astonishing RM300 million that the wealthy royal was demanding for a case of harmless mistaken identity, yet it is a ruinous sum for the three defendants targeted in this case.

Did the arrival of a certain journalist effect an alternation to the plans for a question and answer session at Sarawak's 'MINTRED Connects' event in London?...........

Najib's undeniable involvement in the murder of his former translator on his most notorious defence deal must now be fully examined after years of closing down proper investigations. She was threatening to expose the now proven fact that he, together with his aide Razik Baginda, had taken massive kickbacks from the French Scopene submarine deal, which provides a motive for her murder by his two bodyguards that could never be otherwise explained.....

The perils of Taib family exposure are mounting now that the Governor's two sons have named Taib himself as a defendant in their lawsuit over millions of CMSB shares, signed over to his second wife from his first wife's estate. But it is not the only family lawsuit that threatens to spill a heaving can of worms....

Hidden from the official video release of Sarawak's KL based Independence Celebrations were troubling scenes of the 87 year old TYT Taib Mahmud as he struggled to perform his role as 'Birthday Boy' in his simultaneous birthday celebrations........

How is it that under Malaysia's reformist government draconian behaviour has raised concerns and does this bode badly for the country's new budget that is targeted to open up a new era free from cronyism and corruption?.........