COMMENT | The first trial hearing in a case involving 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) post the entry of the backdoor government started with a big bang – Najib Abdul Razak’s stepson Riza Abdul Aziz has been offered a surprise deal by prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram - a conditional discharge in return for certain recoveries of monies.

Understandably, the decision has caused quite a stir, raising questions, rightly or wrongly, over whether the change of government - where Bersatu is aligned with Umno and PAS - has already caused a softened approach in the charging of those involved in the 1MDB scandal.

Was it a fair deal for the government, or was the prosecution being too lenient here? And to make the deal more questionable, former attorney-general Tommy Thomas denied agreeing to the deal, contradicting the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Let’s see how everything stacks up as of now.

Hollywood producer Riza of ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ fame, son of Rosmah Mansor and a friend of Jho Low, was given a discharge but not amounting to an acquittal, on money-laundering charges involving US$248 million (RM1.1 billion), allegedly misappropriated from 1MDB funds.

Former Federal Court judge Sri Ram, who was appointed as senior deputy public prosecutor (DPP) in the case, informed the court that since the filing of the charges, the accused had made several representations through his solicitors to the relevant authorities.

“An agreement has been arrived at between the prosecution and the accused under the terms of which the federal government will receive a substantial sum running into several million ringgit,” he added.

Riza was facing five charges of money laundering...