Dr M says arrest of former PetroSaudi Int exec over leaked documents suspicious

KUALA LUMPUR - Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today expressed suspicion over Thailand’s arrest of a former PetroSaudi International executive who leaked documents about 1Malaysia Development Bhd, claiming industrial espionage wouldn’t have merited the detention.

Speaking to reporters for the first time since Xavier Justo was arrested on Monday, the former prime minister and trenchant critic of 1MDB said there was no reason for Thailand to detain the man allegedly blackmailing PetroSaudi over its abortive deal with the Malaysian firm.

“Maybe because he is a terrorist, that’s why he was arrested by Thailand. If he was only stealing company secret, he won’t have to be arrested,” Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying by news portal Malaysiakini.

“This man came to Thailand obviously as a tourist unless Saudi Arabia request Thailand to arrest him, I don’t see why Thailand should arrest him.”

Calling Justo’s arrest suspicious, the former prime minister claimed that the way it transpired suggested that it was premeditated by “very intelligent” individuals.

Dr Mahathir also remarked on an incident yesterday in which his image among other Malaysian prime ministers displayed outside Putra World Trade Centre went dark allegedly due to technical issue.

“I don’t know, we are finding some very clever propagandist , now my face is blackened already and my legacy destroyed,” he was quoted further in the report.

Justo, a Swiss national, was arrested by the Thai police on Monday.

He was allegedly the source of leaked documents on PetroSaudi’s US$1.2 billion joint venture with 1MDB that fell through in 2009.

A report by the New Straits Times on Tuesday said that Justo had allegedly attempted to blackmail and extort 2.5 million Swiss Francs (about RM10 million) from PetroSaudi over the release of these purportedly incriminating document.

The English daily also reported that the documents were found to have been doctored.

Many of these leaked documents were published on Sarawak Report, but an anonymous blog on June 7 reproduced documents that supposedly show 1MDB’s US$1.2 billion deal with Petrosaudi was a legitimate arrangement.

Dr Mahathir is demanding the resignation of Datuk Seri Najib Razak as prime minister over what the former alleges to be billions that have gone missing from 1MDB’s accounts.

1MDB is currently under investigation by at least four federal agencies.