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….

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…..

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 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…

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……

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? ……

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”……..