Two Executives Linked to 1MDB Scandal Jailed in Abu Dhabi
Two executives linked to a Malaysia wealth fund scandal were
convicted of financial crimes and sentenced to prison in Abu Dhabi, the Wall
Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Khadem al Qubaisi, who once headed Abu Dhabi’s International
Petroleum Investment Co., was handed a 15-year prison sentence and Mohammed
Badawy al Husseiny, a U.S. citizen who ran a subsidiary of IPIC, was sentenced
to 10 years, according to the report. They jointly must pay about $336 million,
the WSJ reported, cited a statement from the emirate’s court.
The court statement didn’t identify the men by name, but
people familiar with the judicial actions told the Journal that the unidentified
defendants were Al Qubaisi and Al Husseiny. It also cited people familiar as
saying the convictions weren’t related to the Malaysian fund scandal. Lawyers
for both men and a representative of the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court declined to
comment on the charges, the Journal reported.
1Malaysia Development Bhd., set up by former Prime Minister
Najib Razak to attract foreign investment, accumulated billions of dollars of
debt after its 2009 inception and is at the center of multiple investigations
in relation to alleged corruption and money laundering.
IPIC and Aabar Investments last year alleged in a court
filing that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. paid bribes to former fund officials, who
in exchange “agreed to manipulate and mislead IPIC and Aabar, and to misuse the
companies’ names, networks, and infrastructures to further the criminal schemes
and to personally benefit.”
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