Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has started legal action against The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) over a July 3 article which alleged that vast funds were transferred to his personal accounts.

Najib's legal firm, Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak says a letter has been sent to the New York-based publication to seek clarification about the allegations made in the article.

“Combing through the said article, we have concluded that the language is intentionally or otherwise has made reference to several facts and companies which are vaguely described.

“Reference is made to the said article wherein it has been stated that our client had been directly probed into 1MDB, however contents of the article refers to indirect transactions where our client has been implicated with 1MDB-linked companies,” the firm said in the letter.

Among others, the firm said that it had been instructed to identify the parties involved in the authorship, distribution and publishing of the article, for the purpose of naming the appropriate parties in any potential actions.

“Secondly, another issue of concern is jurisdictional issues of which the publication originates from United States of America and accessible worldwide.

“We have been also instructed that a local presence of WSJ is also available and we are pursuing further clarification and details on this matter.

“Since the article involves several parties, we have also been instructed to consider a joint action or an action against, in the event evidence shows a conspiracy against our client.

“Kindly note that the companies named as conspirators with our client, in the article are; International Petroleum Investment Co, Tanore Finance Corp, SRC International Sdn. Bhd and Ihsan Perdana Sdn. Bhd.

“Several names of companies or organizations had only been referred to as the related companies or companies belonging to certain organizations or companies, and also the sources or destinations or the alleged transactions has not been disclosed,” said the letter, adding that the subsequent issue is to tackle all possible or plausible legal remedies for an action of defamation.

“This is not a straightforward legal action due to the national and international imputations. We have been instructed to identify facts and lay full facts, before our client is able to proceed with further instructions.

“The purpose of clear explanation is to avoid unnecessary objections by WSJ on the imputations that are made.

“Once our client has obtained all necessary facts and the position of WSJ is ascertained, we have strict instructions to immediately exhaust legal avenues and remedies,” it said.

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