Sarawak Report Claims Najib And Rosmah Used 1MDB Funds To Buy Anti-Ageing Products
The allegations were made based on leaked documents from MACC's investigation on 1MDB.
By Samantha Khor — 03 Aug 2016, 01:18 PM
In an article posted today, Sarawak Report alleged that PM Najib Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor had used stolen funds from a 1MDB subsidiary to purchase anti-ageing products from overseas
Citing leaked documents from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)'s investigations into 1MDB, the whistleblower site claims that Najib and his wife had used over RM1.15 million misappropriated from SRC International - a subsidiary of the scandal-ridden 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) - to purchase hormone-based anti-ageing products from the US.
According to the documents obtained by Sarawak Report, a cheque for RM1.154 million was made out to Datuk Sidiq bin Mohammed on 4 February 2015 for the purchase of two sets of medication worth USD159,000 (RM577,000) each
When asked by investigators, Datuk Sidiq was revealed to have said that the cheque was made out for the purpose of purchasing "two sets of medication type External Plant Serum Food Application based softgel GH-9 Honey and Honey Food GH-9 Soft Gel at USD159,000 each set for the use of B1 and wife."
Wait, who exactly are "B1 and wife"? Sarawak Report strongly believes that it refers Najib and Rosmah, as the next items of expenditure were said to refer to construction works at addresses known to belong to them.
The site cited a RM100,000 cheque made out to ABS Trend Master Sdn. Bhd. via an AmIslamic Bank account on 16 February 2016 as an example.
According to a note attached to the photocopied cheque, the payment was meant for "construction work at a police post unit, concrete landfills, and multi-purpose room in B1 house No 11 Jalan Taman Duta Duta Langgak KL".
As for the aforementioned Datuk Sidiq, Sarawak Report believes that they have identified the recipient of the first cheque as the Vice President of the Society for the Advancement of Hormones and Healthy Ageing Medicine Malaysia (SAHAMM)
SAHAMM, established in 2010 by "a group of doctors who had a passion towards wellness and healthy-ageing medicine", describes itself as an "independent, non-political and public interest" organisation that aims to "promote advances in healthy-ageing and preventive medicine".
The organisation also claims that conventional medicine is actually "downstream medicine" that merely treats diseases with patented medicines, while Healthy Ageing Medicine is "upstream medicine"that focuses on prevention, early detection, and treatment of age-related dysfunctions.
On to the "medication" purchased for RM577,000 per pop, what kind of health supplement could warrant such a hefty price tag?
Sarawak Report suggests that the GH-9 referred to is actually the "Growth Factor 9" hormone, currently very popular with the "rich and famous" as an anti-ageing product.
Produced by Novex Biotech, 'Growth Factor-9' is typically used as an HGH releaser with a primary goal to enhance physical performance. It has been marketed as a "complex hormone antecedent" that will allow users to take complete advantage of their physicality and release their anti-ageing potential.
A bottle (120 capsules) of Growth Factor-9 is priced at US99.99 each. A set costing USD159,000 would consist of approximately 1,590 bottles.
A quick search on Google unearthed a similarly named product to that recorded by 1MDB investigators - the 100% plant-based GH-9 Honey Health Food Supplement, which also has anti-ageing benefits
According to the product description, GH-9 Honey is "a food-based supplement used to stimulate the human body to maintain youth, vigour and vitality". It is also said to have the ability to give users increased energy, improved muscle tone, enhanced sexual function and performance, and improve digestion and eyesight.