Come, spar with me on live TV, Tony Pua tells 1MDB’s Arul Kanda

1Malaysia Development Berhad president Arul Kanda Kandasamy says there is no cover-up in the debt-laden state investor. – Reuters pic, October 29, 2015. DAP lawmaker Tony Pua has challenged 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) president Arul Kanda Kandasamy to a live interview to clear the air about the debt-ridden state-owned investor.

Pua said Arul Kanda failed to respond to his allegations against 1MDB while Malaysians were no closer to the truth on its scandals even as the 1MDB head continued with his public relations campaign with recycled answers.

“Despite his claim of ‘no cover-up’, Arul Kanda has to date steered totally clear of responding to my allegations that 1MDB performed a fraudulent round-tripping exercise over the payment of US$1 billion to terminate its options granted to IPIC,” he said in a statement yesterday.

“However, I am willing to be proven wrong.  Since Arul Kanda proudly proclaimed that there is absolutely no cover-up at 1MDB, may I humbly propose that he attend a ‘live’ talkshow which I will host and ask the questions.  He will be given every opportunity and as much time as he likes to answer these questions.”

This comes as Arul Kanda participated in a special programme “Bernama TV with Arul Kanda”, and answered allegations surrounding 1MDB, which is saddled with a RM42 billion debt since its inception in 2009.

Pua said Arul Kanda had “boasted” that there was “absolutely no cover-up” in 1MDB matters and had used previously discredited answers.

“For example, when he was asked what exactly are ‘fund units’ parked in the Swiss branch of BSI Bank in Singapore, he basically said they were ‘fund units’ like unit trusts worth US$940 million,” the Petaling Jaya Utara MP said.

“He didn’t explain why these ‘fund units’ which were redeemed from the Cayman Island fund were still in the form of ‘fund units’ and not in cash or, raw assets like property and shares.  If they were in ‘fund units’, then it can only mean that the Caymans fund was never redeemed in the first place.”

Arul Kanda, Pua said, had also repeated that the disposal of its subsidiary Edra Energy would allow the company to remove RM16 billion to RM18 billion of 1MDB’s debt, but had failed to add that the debts associated to its energy arm was about RM36 billion. 

“Hence reducing up to RM18 billion of debt via the disposal of Edra Energy will still leave 1MDB with more than RM18 billion of outstanding debt associated with its energy acquisitions.

“Arul Kanda also bragged about the ‘debt for asset-swap’ deal with Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) where the latter assumes some RM16 billion of 1MDB’s debts in exchange for its assets.  

“The problem with this deal is that while IPIC has already advanced more than US$1 billion to 1MDB, it is to transfer assets worth RM16 billion to IPIC by June  30, 2016.

“Arul Kanda intentionally forgets to highlight the fact that there is no assurance at all that 1MDB will be able to transfer these assets, especially since no assets of such value exists in the company as at this point of time. Instead, if 1MDB fails to transfers the assets of the said value, the Malaysian government has undertaken to indemnify IPIC with a compensation of the same sum.”

Reiterating the call to Arul Kanda to agree to an interview with him, Pua said he would not be upset if the 1MDB president could show evidence of his claims, and disprove the DAP MP’s allegations. – October 29, 2015.