Justo says offered US$2 million for 1MDB info, Rewcastle-Brown rubbishes it, says report

Xavier Andre Justo (seated), now under arrest in Thailand, told Singapore's The Straits Times that he was offered US$2 million for information on 1MDB, a claim denied by Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown. – Royal Thai Police pic, July 24, 2015.Former PetroSaudi International director Xavier Andre Justo said he was promised US$2 million by a Malaysian businessman in exchange for data he stole from his former employer but was never paid, Singapore's The Straits Times (ST) reports.

The Swiss national also claimed that Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown had agreed to receive the payment and to forward it to him in installments, but Rewcastle-Brown denied this.

Brown told ST that Justo was "full of untruths" and described the allegation as "bunkum".

Justo, in an interview in prison in Bangkok, told ST that the deal on the sale of information was reached in Singapore in February after he met a group of people which included Rewcastle-Brown.

"I gave the original documents without any kind of alteration.

"I can say that I gave those documents to two groups of people.

"One was Ms Rewcastle-Brown and 'her IT guy' and the other was the Malaysian businessman and his colleague," he was quoted as saying.

ST said it was withholding the name of the businessman pending verification, adding that Justo had showed them a copy of the 22-page confession he made to Thai police, in which he named the people he had met in Singapore to discuss the sale of the data.

Justo said the buyer had offered him cash, and the arrangement was for him to go to Singapore every week or so to receive an envelope with the payment in installments for months until the final amount was paid.

He added that he refused the offer.

He said he had earlier tried 3 times to open account with different banks in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong, but was refused each time without being told the reason.

According to the report, Justo claimed that Rewcastle-Brown then agreed to receive the US$2 million from the buyer and send him US$250,000 a month for consultancy services, but added that he did not know if she received the money as he was then arrested.

Justo also alleged that the group he had met in Singapore had talked about using the information against the Malaysian government.

ST reported that "they also referred to plans to 'modify the documents'".

ST obtained Rewcastle-Brown's reaction, in which she said Justo was "full of untruths".

"Why would I wish to alter anything?  If I had, why haven't 1MDB and PetroSaudi brought out the evidence of such altering in all of the last five or so months?" ST quoted her as saying.

"What I have presented on 1MDB and has been clarified by The Edge and corroborated by several other official sources is a coherent explanation of events, versus the dodging, changing stories of 1MDB," she added.

Earlier this week, The Edge which reported extensively on 1MDB said it had handed over documents, printed emails and a hard disk to Bank Negara Malaysia, pertaining to 1MDB's joint venture with PetroSaudi.

The Edge CEO and publisher Ho Kay Tat also said he had given a statement to the police Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) and submitted the same set of evidence to the police.

"We were not involved in any theft, we did not pay anyone, and we did not tamper any of the emails and documents we were given.

"In fact, we have secured the data so that no one can tamper with them. This can be independently verified by the authorities," said Ho.

ST reported that Justo, when met at the Bangkok Remand Prison, said he had been treated well and that his confession was not made under duress.

Justo was arrested on Koh Samui island on June 22 on charges of blackmailing PetroSaudi with information linked to 1MDB.

He faces up to 7 years in jail and a fine if found guilty of extortion. He is reportedly hoping for a lighter sentence in view of his confession. – July 24, 2015.