Securency tried to bribe Pak Lah

After a former BNM deputy governor were charged with corruption over their involvement, Securency tried to bribe Pak Lah, while he is still Prime Minister. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s banknote firms, Securency and Note Printing Australia (NPA) are suspected of attempting to bribe Malaysia former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in order to get his help to win a $31 million currency contract for Malaysia RM5 polymer notes. The contracts negotiation occurred around 2003, the year he became prime minister and finance minister. Tun Abdullah served as Malaysia prime minister until 2009.

According to the Star newspaper, Tun Abdullah has denied allegations of attempts to bribe him in order to get his assistance to win a RM100mil currency contract while he was still Malaysia Prime Minister. The former Prime Minister said he had no recollection of anyone approaching him with such an offer and that he would have immediately reported the incident to the authorities, if it had occurred. The alleged attempt to bribe Pak Lah, just adding the list of high-profile Asian politicians and central bank officials targeted by the RBA firms. That included a reported news by The AFP, Securency bribed Vietnam’s former central bank governor by paying his son’s English university tuition fees. Another news is that Securency hired Malaysia political family, businessman Haris Onn Hussein.

In former Bank Negara Malaysia assistant governor Mohamad Daud Dol Moin case, Anti-corruption investigations director Mustafar Ali said, he allegedly took kickbacks totalling 100,000 ringgit ($33,000). He took two bribes from businessman Abdul Kayum Syed Ahmad in 2004 over a 95 million ringgit contract to print five ringgit polymer banknotes that was awarded to NPA, Mustafar said. Abdul Kayum was also charged for bribing Mohamad Daud, Mustafar said. If found guilty, the men, who are on bail, could be jailed for up to 20 years and fined five times the bribe amount.

Source: The Age, Star News, AFP.