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KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – The office of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has ordered changes to the scandal-ridden 2016 audit report of the public fund 1MDB, including the removal of Low Taek Jho's presence. at a meeting of the board of directors, announced the authorities.
PHOTO FILE: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak leaves court in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 4, 2018. REUTERS / Lai Seng Sin
According to the Malaysian and US authorities investigating the fund, Financier Low has been described as a central player in the allegations of corruption and money laundering at 1MDB. He has no official role in 1MDB, but has advised on investments and negotiated agreements for the fund, the authorities said.
Najib, ousted May 9 by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in the elections, faces multiple charges of corruption, abuse of power and criminal abuse of trust related to 1MDB. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has always denied any wrongdoing.
In a statement dated Saturday, Malaysia's Auditor General, Madinah Mohamad, said that "several" findings of the audit report submitted in February 2016 to Najib have been "discontinued and altered."
The audit report before the amendments was submitted to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the police for further investigation, Madinah said.
"The former Prime Minister ordered the deletion of the paragraph containing two versions of the financial statement of the 1MDB for the 2014 fiscal year and ordered that an investigation be conducted by the authorities in charge of law enforcement, "she said in a statement.
Najib's private secretary "also ordered the former Auditor General to delete the paragraph on the presence of Low Taek Jho at one of the 1MDB board meetings, on the grounds that It was sensitive and that the fact that the opposition was not distorted ".
A spokesman for Najib did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In an interview with Reuters in June, Najib said that he should not be blamed for the 1MDB scandal and that he knew nothing of the money coming from the credit union. State appearing on his personal account.
Low, who is on the run, has previously maintained his innocence.
Malaysia, under the prime minister of Najib, had filed the audit report in 2016 under the law on official secrets when investigating the fund's financial problems. In May, the Mahathir government declassified the report that senior officials of 1MDB had concealed information from its board of directors.
Reportage of Liz Lee; edited by A. Ananthalakshmi and Richard Pullin
