Group chairman Tong Kooi Ong presented the gift to Justo when he, his wife Laura and four-year-old son Zander visited the business weekly’s office today. They met Tong and the group’s CEO, Ho Kay Tat, The Edge Markets reported.
“The gift to Justo is in appreciation of his contribution to Malaysia in helping to expose the kleptocracy of the past government,” Tong was quoted as saying in the report.
“Without him, the wrongdoings involving 1MDB, as exposed by The Edge, would not have come to light.”
Justo was arrested in 2015 for leaking documents from oil and gas company PetroSaudi International relating to its joint venture with 1MDB, which formed the basis of a money laundering investigation.
This landed him in a Thai jail for 18 months for allegedly demanding payment in exchange for not disclosing confidential information.
“His family was harassed and intimidated while he was languishing in jail. No one should have to go through what he had to endure for helping to reveal the truth,” Tong said.
“On behalf of all Malaysians, I would like to say ‘thank you’ to him and his family.”
Six months before his arrest, Justo handed Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown thousands of documents, including 227,000 emails from the servers of PetroSaudi, which shed light on the alleged theft of hundreds of millions from 1MDB.
On Feb 10, 2015, Tong and Ho were reported to have met Rewcastle-Brown, who introduced Justo to them in Singapore.
The documents which he leaked set off a chain reaction of investigations in at least six countries, leading to what US Attorney-General Loretta Lynch described as “the largest kleptocracy case” in US history.
Malaysia has also begun charging several individuals, including former prime minister Najib Razak, in connection with the scandal following Pakatan Harapan’s victory in the May 9 general election. Najib has maintained he is innocent.
The Edge Markets also reported Justo as thanking Tong, saying his gift will go a long way in helping him and his family rebuild their lives.
“I take comfort (from the fact) that I have not suffered in vain. Malaysians got to learn the truth (about 1MDB) and I eventually got my freedom back.”
Rewcastle-Brown has also described Justo as a real hero and the whistleblower who provided information that broke the 1MDB scandal in Malaysia.
She also praised Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad for meeting Justo soon after GE14, saying it was extremely appropriate and well deserved.
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