Petronas suffers an ADDITIONAL $US 2.9 Billion write-down on the overpriced Gladstone project

by Ganesh Sahathavan

Petronas partner in the Australian Gladstone LNG Project, Santos has announced that " it will take a $US870 million ($A1.1 billion) non-cash, after-tax impairment on the Gladstone LNG project".

Santos owns 30% of the project while Petronas's share equals 27.5% and hence Petronas' share of the write-off will also be equal approximately $US 870 Million.

However, that figure is an after tax figure, and so the before tax figure $US 2.9 Billion would be more accurate.

Petronas' investment in the Gladstone project was over-priced from Day One, when its initial investment caused the entire Australian market for LNG assets to be pushed upwards.Again, another Wee Yaw Hin debacle. 

END 

References

Pertonas must not hide billions lost in shale misdaventures -Heads must roll- Wee Yaw Hin must pay for losses

by Ganesh Sahathevan

After a six-year stint as head of Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) upstream business, Datuk Wee Yiaw Hin  said (in 2016) that he is “ready to take a break from the industry.”
In typical style Petronas maintains that these write-downs by its partners have nothing to do with Pertonas:

In Australia 

Santos has advised of a further $US1.5 billion write-down on the value of its new GLNG gas export project in Queensland in a move that has fuelled expectations the plant will have to be run at well below full capacity for many years.

The impairment, which chairman Peter Coates said reflects "the reality of the current oil price environment", also means Santos will almost certainly plunge deep into the red when it reports its first-half results on Friday.

The latest write-down, of about $US1.05 billion after tax, comes on top of the $565 million ) pre-tax impairment on GLNG in February.

Petronas share of the write-down equals approximately about RM 6.2 Billion .Santos owns 30% of the project while Petronas's share equals 27.5%.The figure is based on Petronas having equal share BUT an exchange rate of 1 AUD equal MYR 3. The current exchange rate is 1 AUD equal MYR 3.42.

In Canada 

The impairment, which would have an effect on the profitability of the national oil company but not its cash-flow situation, is estimated based on the provisions made by one of the joint-venture (JV) partners in the LNG project. According to wire reports, Japan Petroleum Exploration Co (Japex) that has a 10% stake in the Pacific NorthWest LNG project consortium would take a loss of about C$102mil (RM349mil) in the year to end-March following Petronas’ decision to abort its Canadian LNG project.

“Based on what Japex will provide, Petronas’ portion would be about six times the amount considering its 62% stake in the consortium,” said an industry analyst.

Therefore, Petronas's share of the write-down would be approximately, RM 2.1 Billion



In Sudan 
This statement from 2014  says much about Petronas's ostrich like attitude attitude:

“Sudan and South Sudan have done very well despite the security issues,” Petronas executive vice-president for exploration and production Datuk Wee Yiaw Hin toldStarBiz in a recent interview.

“We must look at it as a long-term investment. Production from Sudan and South Sudan average about 220,000 bpd today.

“Despite zero production for many years, we didn’t have to make any impairments for our operations there because we have made so much money and the remaining value is huge.”

No indication has been given anywhere of what  remaining value is huge means.


END

.Penny Wong has not renounced her Malaysian citizenship, only "any rights (she) may have had to Malaysian citizenship "

by Ganesh Sahathevan 


As reported by The Daily Telegraph,14 August 2017, quoting Senator Penelope (Penny) Wong Yin Yen: 

“I was well aware when I stood for parliament I would have to renounce any rights I may have had to Malaysian citizenship and did so prior to nominating, as is confirmed in the statement by the ALP national secretary,” Ms Wong told The Daily Telegraph yesterday, yet still refused to release the documentary proof.


However, as previously reported on this blog, Penny Wing is a Malaysian citizen; she has more than mere rights to Malaysian citizenship. Penny Wong is a lawyer, and would know well enough the distinction between renouncing "any rights (she) may have had to Malaysian citizenship", and actually renouncing Malaysian citizenship.

She needed to have renounced her Malaysian citizenship, not merely renounce any rights to Malaysian citizenship. In fact there does not appear to be any mechanism within Malaysian law to renounce a right to Malaysian citizenship.


Her parents would  have been required by law to register her birth at the nearest Malaysian and/or Sabah State Registry office. She is a Malaysian citizen,and has more than a mere right to Malaysian citizenship.The reason is simple.As far as Malaysia is concerned, you are either a citizen, or you are not. 

END 



REFERENCE 

realpolitikasia

Sunday, August 13, 2017

Penny Wong:born in Malaysia to a Malaysian father ,lived as a local for 8 years ,recalls "feeling like I didn't belong (in Australia) for some time," but insists there is no prima facie evidence of Malaysian citizenship

by Ganesh Sahathevan 

Senator Penny Wong has been reported to have said that she has nothing to prove for the there is no evidence of her Malaysian citizenship.

Meanwhile; from the Penny friendly SBS:

When Penny Wong moved to Australia, it was summertime and her parents had just separated.

It was 1976. She was eight years old.

“I think Australia smelled dusty,” she said. “It just looked different and smelled different and the light was different.”

“I remember the first time I jumped into the sea here, and how cold it was," she said. “Obviously, in Malaysia it’s near the equator and pretty warm there, and me thinking, 'what’s wrong with the sea?'”

But she says she remembers "feeling like I didn't belong for some time," especially at her new school.

And , as reported here before:

Penelope Wong Ying Yen, aka Senator Penny Wong, was born in Kota Kinabalu ,State Of Sabah, Federation of Malaysia. Her father Francis Wong is a Malaysian citizen,which makes Wong a Malaysian citizen by birth.
While she moved to Australia in  1976,that would not have caused the loss of her Malaysian citizenship.

END 

REFERENCE 

realpolitikasia

Friday, July 14, 2017

Senator Penny Wong born in Malaysia,and born a Malaysian citizen-Has she officially renounced Malaysian citizenship, and can we see proof?

by Ganesh Sahathevan






Penelope Wong Ying Yen, aka Senator Penny Wong, was born in Kota Kinabalu ,State Of Sabah, Federation of Malaysia. Her father Francis Wong is a Malaysian citizen,which makes Wong a Malaysian citizen by birth.


While she moved to Australia in  1976,that would not have caused the loss of her Malaysian citizenship.
Many Malaysians who later in life took up citizenship  of other countries assumed that by doing so Malaysian citizenship was lost  automatically, but this is not the case.

There is ,provided for in the Malaysian Constitution and arising laws a process which requires citizens who wish to renounce their citizenship to make a formal application to do so.It is up to the Malaysian Government to determine if the application should be accepted.

If the Government determines that the application is to be accepted, then the applicant is issued a formal notice of that fact,with a copy of his or her Malaysian birth certificate marked with  words in Malay and/or English  ,"No longer a citizen of Malaysia (paraphrase)".

None of this has ever been provided the public in the case of Penny Wong. Indeed the question has never been put. We are simply expected to accept  that Wong is not a citizen of Malaysia, despite the facts.
END

Penny Wong:born in Malaysia to a Malaysian father ,lived as a local for 8 years ,recalls "feeling like I didn't belong (in Australia) for some time," but insists there is no prima facie evidence of Malaysian citizenship

by Ganesh Sahathevan 

Senator Penny Wong has been reported to have said that she has nothing to prove for the there is no evidence of her Malaysian citizenship.

Meanwhile; from the Penny friendly SBS:

When Penny Wong moved to Australia, it was summertime and her parents had just separated.

It was 1976. She was eight years old.

“I think Australia smelled dusty,” she said. “It just looked different and smelled different and the light was different.”

“I remember the first time I jumped into the sea here, and how cold it was," she said. “Obviously, in Malaysia it’s near the equator and pretty warm there, and me thinking, 'what’s wrong with the sea?'”

But she says she remembers "feeling like I didn't belong for some time," especially at her new school.

And , as reported here before:

Penelope Wong Ying Yen, aka Senator Penny Wong, was born in Kota Kinabalu ,State Of Sabah, Federation of Malaysia. Her father Francis Wong is a Malaysian citizen,which makes Wong a Malaysian citizen by birth.
While she moved to Australia in  1976,that would not have caused the loss of her Malaysian citizenship.

END 

realpolitikasia

Friday, July 14, 2017

Senator Penny Wong born in Malaysia,and born a Malaysian citizen-Has she officially renounced Malaysian citizenship, and can we see proof?

by Ganesh Sahathevan






Penelope Wong Ying Yen, aka Senator Penny Wong, was born in Kota Kinabalu ,State Of Sabah, Federation of Malaysia. Her father Francis Wong is a Malaysian citizen,which makes Wong a Malaysian citizen by birth.


While she moved to Australia in  1976,that would not have caused the loss of her Malaysian citizenship.
Many Malaysians who later in life took up citizenship  of other countries assumed that by doing so Malaysian citizenship was lost  automatically, but this is not the case.

There is ,provided for in the Malaysian Constitution and arising laws a process which requires citizens who wish to renounce their citizenship to make a formal application to do so.It is up to the Malaysian Government to determine if the application should be accepted.

If the Government determines that the application is to be accepted, then the applicant is issued a formal notice of that fact,with a copy of his or her Malaysian birth certificate marked with  words in Malay and/or English  ,"No longer a citizen of Malaysia (paraphrase)".

None of this has ever been provided the public in the case of Penny Wong. Indeed the question has never been put. We are simply expected to accept  that Wong is not a citizen of Malaysia, despite the facts.
END

FBI fears for the safety of witnesses, including law enforcement personnel involved in the 1MDB CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

by Ganesh Sahathevan 

'Arul jumpa kami kerana politik matang PAS'

The following declaration sworn by FBI Special Agent Jill Enyart makes clear that the 1MDB theft is an ongoing criminal investigation.The FBI make clear that it  fears for the safety of witnesses, including law enforcement personnel involved in the  1MDB investigation.The declaration is attached to the recent DOJ stay application with regards its 1MDB theft related asset seizures.

END 

DECLARATION OF JILL ENYART

 I, Jill Enyart, declare and state as follows: 

1. I am a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”). I have read the foregoing Notice of Motion and Motion For Order Staying Civil Forfeiture Proceedings For All Purposes Except the Filing of Timely Claims and Answers, and know the contents thereof. The matters contained in the Motion are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. 

2. I am familiar with the allegations set out in the First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) in this action, and the scope and subject matter of the related, ongoing criminal investigation. The sources of my knowledge and information concerning the investigation are official files and records of the United States, publicly available files and historical information, information made known to me by other law enforcement officers, experts, and government lawyers, as well as my own personal involvement in the investigation, together with others, as a Special Agent of the FBI. 

3. The government commenced a criminal investigation of the events described in the FAC prior to the commencement of this and the related actions. The criminal investigation remains ongoing. 

4. The related criminal investigation is global in scope because the underlying crimes were committed over several years in numerous jurisdictions. Perpetrators, which includes both entities and individuals acting in individual and representative capacities, are believed to have committed violations of both U.S. and foreign laws. A significant amount of the evidence and Case 2:16-cv-05362-DSF-PLA Document 121 Filed 08/10/17 Page 21 of 23 Page ID #:1236 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 witnesses with knowledge of these violations are located in foreign jurisdictions, and will take time to pursue. 

5. I believe that disclosure of any facts beyond those set forth in the FAC, whether in response to discovery requests or otherwise, will have an adverse effect on the government’s ability to conduct the ongoing criminal investigation. Such disclosures are likely to reveal potential targets and subjects of the investigation and the investigative techniques that have been and will be used in the investigation. Such disclosures could result in the destruction of evidence, flight of potential subjects and targets, or the identification and intimidation of potential witnesses. In fact, potential witnesses with knowledge of the criminal conduct and other facts set forth in the FAC may live in jurisdictions where their safety and security could be in jeopardy if their identities are disclosed through civil discovery in this and the other related cases. 

6. In addition, proceeding with discovery in this and the related cases could lead to the disclosure of information relating to the sources of evidence from whom the government obtained evidence, including foreign jurisdictions. The disclosure of such information could prejudice those jurisdictions’ plans, jeopardize the safety of certain foreign law enforcement personnel and threaten their willingness or ability to cooperate with the government in its criminal investigation, thereby closing off sources of evidence of the criminal and other conduct set forth in the FAC. Case 2:16-cv-05362-DSF-PLA Document 

witnesses with knowledge of these violations are located in foreign jurisdictions, and will take time to pursue. 5. I believe that disclosure of any facts beyond those set forth in the FAC, whether in response to discovery requests or otherwise, will have an adverse effect on the government’s ability to conduct the ongoing criminal investigation. Such disclosures are likely to reveal potential targets and subjects of the investigation and the investigative techniques that have been and will be used in the investigation. Such disclosures could result in the destruction of evidence, flight of potential subjects and targets, or the identification and intimidation of potential witnesses. In fact, potential witnesses with knowledge of the criminal conduct and other facts set forth in the FAC may live in jurisdictions where their safety and security could be in jeopardy if their identities are disclosed through civil discovery in this and the other related cases. 

6. In addition, proceeding with discovery in this and the related cases could lead to the disclosure of information relating to the sources of evidence from whom the government obtained evidence, including foreign jurisdictions. The disclosure of such information could prejudice those jurisdictions’ plans, jeopardize the safety of certain foreign law enforcement personnel and threaten their willingness or ability to cooperate with the government in its criminal investigation, thereby closing off sources of evidence of the criminal and other conduct set forth in the FAC.

Attachments area

Sirul Azhar Umar will be coming back to Malaysia to hang-Pointing fingers at Najib & Rosmah not likely to be believed, UNLESS he provides details of his funding

by Ganesh Sahathevan




While Sirul Azhar Umar contemplates his responses to Australian authorities in his bid to live in Australia a free man (with a million dollar home etc ) he might want to consider the implications of his sarong performance, where he declared that PM Najib had nothing to do with anything that concerned his predicament. He did say that there was a political conspiracy to topple Najib, but trying to convince Australian authorities that his former boss (he was Najib's bodyguard) would not be able to protect and defend him in Malaysia from Najib's enemies would be as useful as having Arul Kanda act in his defence.

This writer and others have already stated the obvious;that Sirul needs to come clean on who,what and why he was ordered to execute Altantuya Shaariibuu.However, things have moved on;and now Sirul needs not only reveal that information, but provide details of the funding directed to him and his associates ,and from whom. He needs to disclose every link in the chain if he is to believed.

END 

Sirul Azhar Umar has become hot property: Evidence that Jho Low may have created the market

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Evidence is emerging that someone in Taipei, Taiwan, has been informed of this writer’s queries concerning the matter of Sirul.The emergence of this evidence coincides with Sarawak Report’s revelation that Low Taek Jho, aka Jho Low, has sought 
refuge in Taiwan.   Given that Jho Low has been “tied to the 1 MDB inquiry”  a link between 1 MDB and and the matter of Sirul Azhar Umar may soon become apparent.

While in detention Sirul’s ability to receive any significant amount of cash  is non-existent.It is highly unlikely that he even has a bank account in Australia.The same can be said for his teenage son who remains in Australia. Even if released any receipt of funds on their part will be very closely scrutinized.
Consequently all this money or promise of money swirling around Sirul is indicative only of a presumed right to keep him silent.For so long as he remains in detention others can lay claim to that right,and trade it with anyone who is willing to pay. It appears that Jho Low created the market but it is unclear if he still has the finances to keep that market liquid. With accounts being frozen in Singapore and Malaysia it is likely that the market has dried up.Nevertheless, some may be living in hope.

While Sirul Azhar Umar   remains unrepresented those who have laid claim over him, or who have been reported to be his legal advisors   have refused to say who pays or has promised to pay for their services.

Nevertheless whatever is or was   on offer to guide  Sirul  through his troubles must be significant, for how else does one explain this fiercely possessive  reaction from  Christopher Levingston, an immigration lawyer who was asked to clarify his position vis a vis Sirul:

You have no standing nor do you have any legitimate interest in this matter.

Your attempts to interpose yourself and your strategy of “divide and rule” is not only unprofessional but also unethical.

END

ANZ's senior management actively lobbied Najib for investment approvals ; Najib used ANZ supervised accounts to launder stolen money,possibly DCNS bribes

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Readers attention is drawn to the fact that  Prime Minister, Najib Razak  is also Minister for Finance, responsible for granting ANZ the approval  it sought until recently to increase its stake in AMBank.

Readers are then referred to an earlier story on this blog 

Najib's other 1MDB,or DCNS money? USD 300 million which he did not deny receiving, but which the DOJ has not located. How much in Hong Kong, and is this a missing Scorpene link?

Readers should note that the transactions reported involving Najib Razak in the DCNS corruption scndal and 1MDB theft ,and his AMBAnk/ANZ accounts, go back to at least 2012, just months after NAjib dangled the carrot of a bigger AMBank stake.

END 

ANZ finds an unlikely ally at the top in Malaysia

Mar 8 2011 at 12:34 AM Updated Mar 8 2011 at 8:04 AM y Sarah Thompson and Jamie Freed


bFrom little things big things grow – until you hit a foreign ownership cap.
Some welcome news for ANZ Banking Group’s Asian strategy has emerged from Malaysia. The country’s Prime Minister, Najib Razak , has reportedly said he was open to allowing ANZ to increase its stake in Malaysian bank AmBank Group above the 30 per cent foreign ownership cap to 49 per cent.
Malaysia provides some of the highest returns on equity for banks anywhere in the world and ANZ has a toe hold with a 24 per cent stake in AmBank, the country’s fifth-largest lender.
ANZ has been looking at ways to either become bigger or get out of its minority holdings in Asian banks, and Najib’s comments provide a welcome sign that Asian countries may be looking to ease their rules to attract greater foreign investment.

Deutsche Bank yesterday said a greater stake in AmBank would be an attractive fit with ANZ’s Asian expansion strategy. Malaysia certainly ticks Asia chief Alex Thursby ’s boxes of growing fast while having lots of savings in its bank deposits. AmBank’s shares are also trading at an attractively low valuation at 1.8 times book value.


Buying another 25 per cent stake in the bank would cost ANZ about $1.5 billion assuming no takeover premium, Deutsche reckons. Given ANZ has about $3.5 billion in surplus capital this would not be a stretch.
Of course the downside is ANZ would still find itself as a minority shareholder in a bank, with no clear path to complete control.


The Australian Financial Review

Read more: http://www.afr.com/technology/technology-companies/anz-finds-an-unlikely-ally-at-the-top-in-malaysia-20110307-iu6x4#ixzz4NrcQUjFn

For Reference

ANZ's Secret 1MDB Sacking Spree... How Come Management Still Sit Pretty?
18 MAR 2016

There has been not a squeak from Australia’s banking regulators, prosecutors or politicians about Najib’s billions, handled by the ANZ predominantly owned AmBank in KL.

Whilst regulatory authorities across the globe have indicated that they are now closely studying this stunning scandal and banking heads have started to roll in the face of questioning by the Swiss, US and Singapore, Australia has said nothing.

Neither is it apparently doing anything about the shocking state of affairs.

Except, that Sarawak Report has now learnt that secretly, behind the scenes, several of AmBank’s more junior KL staff were summarily blamed and then sacked last year, just after the cat was let out of the bag by Sarawak Report about those multi-million dollar bank accounts in AmBank.

These included two minority race Senior Relationship Managers and several other more junior staff.

Mike Smith (ex-CEO) left and Chair David Gonsky

Is that supposed to be it?

Are these unfortunates, who have seen their careers destroyed, to carry all the blame?

Because, a major banking concern like ANZ and the regulators behind it, must surely know that global compliance requirements do not exonerate banks, who put the blame on junior staff for non-compliance of such magnitude, particularly with regard to the accounts of high-profile, politically exposed politicians such as a national Prime Minister?

Do ANZ do compliance?

Logos should inspire trust that action will be taken when things go wrong

The Australian banking concern ANZ is, of course, the major shareholder of AmBank, where Najib kept all his dodgy accounts, handling hundreds of millions of dollars and billions of ringgit.

It is, therefore, the most blatantly and obviously culpable of all the international banking institutions involved in this sorry saga.

Some of that money has been directly traced from the KWAP public pension fund cash, borrowed by the 1MDB subsidiary company SRC.  That cash flowed, according to MACC investigators, out of SRC and fairly directly into Najib’s AmBank accounts – to be spent on credit card bills and also million ringgit payments to political hangers on and other ‘recipients’, whom Najib plainly needed to satisfy.

Let us be clear, Najib has now, finally, fully admitted to all of the above.

His excuse, as explained by his compliant new Attorney General last month, was that he hadn’t realised that all this money which appeared in his account had come from SRC.

Even so, he spent it anyway!  A child would know that you don’t spend money that mistakenly arrives into your possession, but the Najib appointed AG, has scandalously “cleared” Najib on the basis of this preposterous excuse – and is now being challenged by the Malaysian Bar Association and others for doing so.

So why didn’t ANZ warn the PM he was spending SRC money?!

Observers in Malaysia and Australia have started to question what AmBank has been doing about all this shocking information?  Because, of course, very senior people at ANZ Bank must have known for years about these accounts, which the rest of Malaysia only discovered existed in July.

As one compliance expert confirmed to Sarawak Report:

“The boss of the bank [Mike Smith] would have known if a PM had such a big account.  The Risk Officer [Nigel Denby] should have done due diligence before. Banks have an obligation to create a specific profile for political people and if you have a customer with public responsibility you have to know where their money is coming from and you should have specific monitoring on these people.

It is not conceivable the Relationship Managers did not tell their boss. You have to take specific care on such accounts.  The senior people at the bank – it is not possible they did not know.  If they really didn’t know then they didn’t know their job.”

This self evident observation makes it clear that if Najib was spending public money that he was unaware was arriving into his accounts, then any half-functioning banking institution should long since have warned him of the fact… because the bosses of the bank ought to have been alerted to the huge sums, established their origin and questioned the account holder about what was going on!

What was so wrong at AmBank/ ANZ that this was not happening?

AmBank is majority owned by ANZ, which, as part of its agreement with the KL subsidiary, seconds all the major office holders to the bank.  Sarawak Report and others have already pointed out that the AmBank Group Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer were both from ANZ.  The latter remains in her post, despite having presided over this entire period of suspicious, multi-million dollar activity in Najib’s accounts.

Former AmBank CEO left early April last year – the CFO, Mandy Smith remains in post

The AmBank Group CEO, however, returned to Australia in April of last year, before his term was out and shortly after the 1MDB/ PetroSaudi scandal was published by Sarawak Report. Several observers have questioned whether this was in response to the 1MDB imbroglio and Najib’s suspicious related spending – and indeed whether a fine exacted by Malaysia’s own Central Bank was likewise a connected matter?

However, ANZ has formally retaliated by issuing a statement denying that the decision of Ashok Ramamurthy to return to Australia had anything to do with this scandal, citing personal reasons instead.  Meanwhile, no explanation has so far been provided by this public Australian bank for the fine exacted by Bank Negara.

By this stage, shareholders must be wondering why, if  this executive did not resign because of Najib’s accounts, he did not do so?

And why are other senior figures, who must have known about these accounts, still sitting in their jobs, whilst the junior staff reporting to them have been sacked?

Risk Management

There are several senior figures, earning top dollar at ANZ Bank, who had to have known about the massive, game-changing accounts belonging to Najib Razak in their bank.  These include ex-CEO Mike Smith, who resigned in September last year. According to his written accolades he had built business at the bank by focusing on none other than its South East Asian accounts, which purportedly did extremely well:

Spot on the money – but who owned these profitable accounts nurtured by Smith? Did he not know?

Mike Smith departed, just as the storm started swirling around the region’s most embarrassing financial scandal to do with his bank.  However, his successor, the former Chief Financial Officer, Shayne Elliot, has certainly done nothing to open up about his bank’s involvement.

Not surprising, since he was there in the middle of it all.  How could he, any less than Smith, not have known?  And why is he not being bitten in the butt this very moment by Australia’s regulators, in order to explain the situation and do a proper due diligence on what has been going on?

There is another character, whom banking insiders have pointed to as a key figure, whose job was solely and entirely supposed to be to prevent exactly what happened with this politically connected account.  This is the British national Nigel Denby, who acts as AmBank’s Chief Risk Officer, based in Hong Kong – also seconded from ANZ.

How come Nigel knew not – since he was there throughout Najib’s phenomenal banking activities?

It would appear that either Nigel spends all day doing something other than his job and had not checked the figures coming out of KL or where those profits originated from, or else he knew.  Alternatively, are the suggestions correct that he knew, but didn’t tell his own boss Mike Smith?

In which case, what did Mike Smith himself do all day to not notice what his Chief Risk Officer was up to with these high rolling accounts?

Finally, but not least, what is the top cheese in charge of the Board of this bank, David Gonski, doing – apparently just sitting there with all this scandal swamping out from underneath him?

The ball is now in the court of Australia’s regulators and political establishment, which for months appear to have been looking the other way on all matters relating to their connections to Malaysia’s extraordinary political scandals.

Does Australia really plan to just sit there and do nothing (except keep Sirul quiet) in the swiftly retreating hope that this whole embarrassing story just goes away?