27 Apr 2024, 15:54 Kuching
27 Apr 2024, 08:54 London
Recent stories
Reports of illegal logging are rampant in Sarawak and time and again the response of the police, the forestry department, local officials and the state government is to do precisely nothing. Take for example this ongoing destruction by foreign workers for a mystery employer in Ulu Sebauh recorded just this week.....
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 world’s 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?........
Is Sarawak entering a new era of hope for its people and environment with the departure of Taib Mahmud? One would like to think so... except there are some glaring issues.....
Whilst Governor Taib Mahmud has been unceremoniously replaced, his elderly former henchmen remain well entrenched and have sought to further strengthen their grip on power in Sarawak - all in the name of increasing 'autonomy' for the native people ....
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 …..
Recent 1MDB Stories
Recent Sarawak Stories
