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EX-PETRO SAUDI EXEC TO APPEAL AGAINST THREE-YEAR JAIL TERM
REPORTED BY THE STRAITS TIMES OF SINGAPORE
September 3, 2015–
Xavier Andre Justo, the Swiss national held in a Bangkok jail on a blackmail conviction - and embroiled in a financial scandal involving Malaysian politics - plans to appeal against his three-year jail term, he told The Straits Times.
"I wasn't expecting three years," he said. Justo was sentenced on August 17, but had expected his cooperation with police and a full confession to draw a lighter sentence.
He has until September 17 to file an appeal. In the interim, he is looking for a new Thai lawyer, he said from Bangkok's Klong Prem remand prison, where he is serving his sentence. His Swiss lawyer Marc Henzelin was present at the interview.
Asked if the details of his confession - and the transcript of a WhatsApp chat he had with the group that made an offer to buy his stolen data in a deal struck in Singapore - had been given to the Malaysian police, he said: "I have no idea."
He had not been contacted by anyone from Malaysia, he said.
He lashed out at references to him as a "whistle-blower" who sold data he stole from his former employer PetroSaudi, which contained details of a deal between the Saudi energy firm and Malaysia's troubled state investment firm 1MDB. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak heads 1MDB's advisory board.
"I am not a whistle-blower," Justo said. "It would be easy to be seen in that image, but I am not. They (the buyers) had a political agenda that I didn't know (about). I had no idea what was in those files. I didn't know they were trying to bring down a government. I was stupid," he claimed.
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[RELATED: EPISODES / DRAMATIS PERSONÆ–WHO'S WHO OF CLARE BROWN –"I further request that Mr Justo is given all the protection due to a whistleblower in this situation and that proper steps are taken to investigate a grave financial fraud in which PetroSaudi International has played a major role." - Clare Rewcastle Brown - Sarawak Report, July 24, 2015][RELATED: BREAKING / JUSTO TO APPEAL 3-YEAR SENTENCE – "I am not a whistle-blower. I want people to know the real story, not just anything and everything written about me." - Xavier Justo - The Straits Times, September 3, 2015]
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[RELATED: FOCUS / CLARE REWCASTLE BROWN'S IGNORANCE OF HER OWN COUNTRY'S LEGAL CODES – "1A– Conspiracy to commit offences outside the United Kingdom." - UK CRIMINAL LAW ACT 1977, August 11, 2015]
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[RELATED: CURRENT / THE JUSTO CONFESSION ON THE STRAITS TIMES OF SINGAPORE - "{Ms Rewcastle-Brown had agreed to receive the US$2 million from the buyer and send {me} US$250,000 a month for consultancy services.} I don't know if she received the money or not, (because) I was arrested...I have no idea." - Xavier Andre Justo - The Straits Times, July 24, 2015]
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[RELATED: CURRENT / JUSTO AND THE EDGE MEDIA GROUP – "Yes, we misled [Justo]. But that was the only way to get hold of the evidence to expose how a small group of Malaysians and foreigners cheated the people of Malaysia of US$1.83 billion (S$2.5 billion)." - Datuk Tong Kooi Ong and Ho Kay Tat - The Straits Times, July 24, 2015]
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[RELATED: FOCUS / CLARE'S CONTRADICTIONS–THE FORKING OF THE TONGUE – "You don't publish something unless you've caught someone doing something naughty; and once you do, you're got a certain amount of license to give him a hard time. That's the job. I'm not trying to be objective, but I'm honest about what I say, and I'm critical where I think it's deserved." - Clare Rewcastle Brown - Esquire Malaysia, July 21, 2015]
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[RELATED: FOCUS / CLARE'S CONTRADICTIONS–THE FORKING OF THE TONGUE –"I believe in balance and objectivity. But if you can't have that, I believe you have to be honest about it. Yes, we are associated with the opposition." - Clare Rewcastle Brown - Foreign Policy, March 13, 2013][RELATED: BREAKING / SWISS NATIONAL GIVEN 3-YEAR JAIL TERM FOR 1MDB-LINKED BLACKMAIL – "A report published last month in Singaporean daily the Straits Times claimed that Justo had affirmed that the businessman and Clare Rewcastle-Brown, the editor of the Sarawak report, wanted to use the data to “bring down the Malaysian government.” He also said that his interlocutors had evoked the possibility of “modifying the documents”, which Rewcastle-Brown has denied. The country’s anti-corruption agency later said the $700 million was donations, effectively clearing Razak of wrongdoing." – FultonCounty.COM, August 17, 2015]
[CURRENT / CLARE REWCASTLE BROWN'S INTERVIEW ON CHANNEL NEWSASIA REGARDING THE WARRANT FOR HER ARREST – "The Prime Minister has now finally had it announced through the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission that that was not anything to do with 1MDB money, which actually certainly I and I don’t know of any investigative reporters who said it was." - Clare Rewcastle Brown - Channel NewsAsia, August 5, 2015]
[RELATED: SENSATIONAL FINDINGS! PRIME MINISTER NAJIB RAZAK’S PERSONAL ACCOUNTS LINKED TO 1MDB MONEY TRAIL - MALAYSIA EXCLUSIVE - Sarawak Report, July 2, 2015]
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[RELATED: CURRENT / CLARE REWCASTLE BROWN'S INTERVIEW ON CHANNEL NEWSASIA REGARDING THE WARRANT FOR HER ARREST – "[PM Najib Razak] is saying that was just a donation, an anonymous donation and really Malaysians are asking: "Who donated and where did the money go?." - Clare Rewcastle Brown - Channel NewsAsia, August 5, 2015][RELATED: FOCUS / CLARE'S CONTRADICTIONS – THE FORKING OF THE TONGUE – "Clare told 16×9 she has received no money from Malaysian politicians and that her donors are 'all non-politically motivated Europeans'." - Global News Canada, December 2, 2011]
[RELATED: FOCUS / CLARE'S CONTRADICTIONS – THE FORKING OF THE TONGUE – "The funding for her radio, she says, comes primarily from a single “European philanthropist” who wishes to remain anonymous; listeners also send donations through the website." - Foreign Policy, March 13, 2013]
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[RELATED: FOCUS / CLARE REWCASTLE BROWN'S IGNORANCE OF HER OWN COUNTRY'S LEGAL CODES - "2– Fraud by false representation; (2) A representation is false if— (b) the person making it knows that it is, or might be, untrue or misleading." - UK FRAUD ACT 2006, August 16, 2015]
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[RELATED: FOCUS / CLARE REWCASTLE BROWN'S IGNORANCE OF HER OWN COUNTRY'S LEGAL CODES -"11– Obtaining services dishonestly. (2) A person obtains services in breach of this subsection if– (a) they are made available on the basis that the payment has been, is being, or will be made for or in respect of them, (b) he obtains them without any payment having been made for or in respect of them or without payment having been made in full, and (c) when he obtains them, he knows– (i) that they are being made available on the basis described in paragraph (a), or (ii) that they might be, but intends that payment will not be made, or will not be made in full." - UK FRAUD ACT 2006, August 16, 2015]
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[RELATED: BREAKING / BUSINESSMAN AT CENTER OF MAJOR MALAYSIAN CORRUPTION SCANDAL IS JAILED IN THAILAND – “I did pursue [Justo] doggedly to get the material. In the end he surrendered it for free." - Clare Rewcastle Brown - The Telegraph, August 17, 2015]
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[RELATED: CURRENT / #ICYMI: CLARE ADMITS TO CONSPIRACY RING, DEFRAUDING JUSTO – "But when it emerged they were not paying Justo, I had to deal with a lot of upset from him (Justo). I did not want to have anything to do with it but offered to try and mediate. It did not come to anything." - Clare Rewcastle Brown - Malaysia Chronicle, July 25, 2015]
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Justo, who had quit PetroSaudi in 2011, demanded 2.5 million Swiss francs (S$3.7 million) from PetroSaudi's chief executive in 2013 for not divulging information he held on the company. The firm had paid him off once before and refused to pay him again, instead filing a complaint with the Thai police in May this year. In June, he was arrested at his plush home on the Thai resort island of Koh Samui.
In an exclusive interview with The Straits Times on July 23 while in remand, Justo revealed that he was promised US$2 million (S$2.8 million) - which he was never paid - for the stolen data by Malaysian businessman Tong Kooi Ong, owner of The Edge Media Group.
He claimed those he met over the negotiations, including Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle- Brown, had talked about using the data "to try to bring down the Malaysian government" and had talked of plans to "modify" the data.
The day the revelations were published, Mr Tong in a joint statement with The Edge Group publisher Ho Kay Tat acknowledged that they had misled Justo into believing he would be paid. "That was the only way to get hold of the evidence to expose how a small group of Malaysians and foreigners cheated the people of Malaysia of US$1.83 billion," they said, denying that they modified any data.
On Tuesday, Justo, barefoot and in prison-issue dark blue shorts and light blue cotton shirt, said he was being treated "better than expected" in prison. "I eat three meals a day. I shower twice a day. Everyone, from the inmates to the officers, has been nice," he said.
Apart from The Straits Times, he has spoken separately to at least two European news outlets. "I want people to know the real story, not just anything and everything written about me," he told The Straits Times.('Ex-PetroSaudi exec to appeal against three-year jail term.' - The Straits Times, September 3, 2015)
- Nirmal Ghosh, Indochina Bureau Chief
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RELATED: JUSTO SAYS NOT A WHISTLE-BLOWER, UNAWARE OF STOLEN DATA'S CONTENT
REPORTED BY THE MALAY MAIL
KUALA LUMPUR, September 4, 2015―
Swiss national Xavier Andre Justo has lashed out at those who call him a “whistle-blower” yesterday, claiming he did not know the content of the data from PetroSaudi International (PSI) he was planning to sell.
In an interview with Singapore’s The Straits Times (ST), the former PetroSaudi executive said he was not aware of the buyers’ political agenda to allegedly bring down the Malaysian government, and admitted the stupidity behind his action.
“I am not a whistle-blower … It would be easy to be seen in that image, but I am not,” Justo told ST.
“They had a political agenda that I didn't know [about]. I had no idea what was in those files. I didn't know they were trying to bring down a government. I was stupid,” he said, referring to the buyers.
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[RELATED: CURRENT / #ICYMI: CLARE ADMITS TO CONSPIRACY RING, DEFRAUDING JUSTO – "We talked about his feelings and his desire to do the right thing by Malaysia often. There was never any talk but of getting out the truth." - Clare Rewcastle Brown - Malaysia Chronicle, July 25, 2015]
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[CURRENT / CLARE REWCASTLE BROWN'S INTERVIEW ON CHANNEL NEWSASIA REGARDING THE WARRANT FOR HER ARREST – "The Prime Minister has now finally had it announced through the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission that that was not anything to do with 1MDB money, which actually certainly I and I don’t know of any investigative reporters who said it was." - Clare Rewcastle Brown - Channel NewsAsia, August 5, 2015][RELATED: SENSATIONAL FINDINGS! PRIME MINISTER NAJIB RAZAK’S PERSONAL ACCOUNTS LINKED TO 1MDB MONEY TRAIL - MALAYSIA EXCLUSIVE - Sarawak Report, July 2, 2015]
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Justo also told ST that he was unaware if his confession and the proof of the negotiation to buy the stolen data have been submitted to Malaysian police, adding he had not been contacted by anybody from Malaysia.
On August 17, Justo was sentenced by a Bangkok court to three years’ jail for attempting to blackmail his former employer PSI, but has since indicated yesterday he would appeal his sentence.
The former PSI director was charged under Section 338 of the Thai Penal Code, which carries a jail sentence of between one and 10 years, and a fine of between THB2,000 and THB20,000, The Star Online’s report had said.
Justo, who was arrested at his home in Koh Samui on June 22, is believed to be the source of leaked documents on PSI’s US$1.2 billion (RM4.51 billion) joint-venture with Malaysian investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) that purportedly suggest that hundreds of millions were siphoned out.
According to past reports, Justo had attempted to blackmail and extort 2.5 million Swiss Francs from PSI over the release of these purportedly incriminating documents.
Justo later admitted to the blackmail charges to the Thai police and provided information on the data from PSI that he had stolen when he left the firm in 2011.
According to Justo in an interview in July by ST, the documents were eventually given to two groups ― Sarawak Report’s Clare Rewcastle-Brown and her “IT” guy, and a “Malaysian businessman” and his colleague.
After the ST’s report was published, The Edge Media Group’s Datuk Tong Kooi Ong and Ho Kay Tat confessed to misleading Justo by promising him US$2 million payment in exchange for the documents.('Justo says not a whistle-blower, unaware of stolen data's content.' - The Malay Mail, September 4, 2015)
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The NINE QUESTIONS Blog will return with more facts.
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