Dow Jones & Company, which owns the influential financial paper The Wall Street Journal, says it had responded to a request for clarification from lawyers acting on behalf of Prime Minister Najib Razak, and stood firm behind its news reports.
A representative from Dow Jones confirmed to The Malay Mail Online via e-mail that the company had issued its response to the query yesterday.
“Yes we responded to the lawyers’ letter yesterday and continue to stand by our reporting,” the Dow Jones spokesman said.
On July 8, Najib’s lawyers sent out its letter requesting clarification from the WSJ on whether its report on July 2 had accused the PM of misappropriating funds from sovereign development fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). WSJ‘s lawyers were given 14 days, or until today, to repsond.
The July 2 report, titled “Malaysia leader’s accounts probed”, alleged that some USD700 million (RM2.6 billion) in 1MDB funds were transferred into Najib’s personal bank accounts about two months before the 13th General Elections in 2013.
The funds were allegedly transferred via 1MDB-linked companies SRC International, Ihsan Perdana, and Gandingan Mentari.
In a brief statement immediately after receiving Najib’s letter, Dow Jones had said, “We stand behind our fair and accurate coverage of this evolving story,” a statement it repeated in its formal reply yesterday.
Yesterday, lawyer Wan Azmir Wan Majid of legal firm Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak, which is representing Najib in the matter, said Dow Jones’ failure to respond to its issued letter amounted to a tacit admission of guilt.
“Dow Jones’s refusal to respond in any way or even clarify their allegations can be construed as an admission of guilt,” he added.
He added, however, that it was still too early to speculate on what the Prime Minister will do next on the matter.
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