Sabah

Malaysia’s Taib family assets face Swiss freeze
Assets held by Swiss banks on behalf of the Malaysian Taib family could be frozen after 20 Swiss MPs filed a motion in the country’s parliament. Geneva MP and lawyer Carlo Sommaruga, who is spearheading the move, has also lodged a criminal complaint, asking the Attorney General of Switzerland, Michael Lauber, to declare the Malaysian Taib family a criminal organization.
View more
Malaysia gets tough with Borneo palm oil polluters
Malaysia’s Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, under the Department of Environment (DOE), says it has taken legal action against five palm oil mills so far this year and that it will continue to monitor other sources of pollution including 34 palm oil mills operating in Borneo’s wild Kinabatangan River basin.
View more
UBS probed over laundering Malaysian illegal logging proceeds
Switzerland’s Attorney General has opened a criminal investigation into the country’s largest bank, UBS AG, over suspected money laundering of timber corruption proceeds from the Malaysian state of Sabah.
View more
Criminal charges looming for UBS over shady Malaysian logging ties
Swiss bank UBS may face criminal proceedings over its business ties with a Malaysian top politician following the filing of a complaint under criminal law by the Bruno Manser Fund, (BMF) a rainforest advocacy group from Switzerland.
View more
Malaysia’s first geothermal energy project gets federal grant
Malaysia’s first geothermal power plant, to be built at Apas Kiri in Sabah’s Tawau district, is expected to have the capability of generating more than 100-MW of electricity, once all its development phases are completed.
View more
Illegal-logging money probe of USB
UBS and Malay officials face probe over illegal-logging money
CleanBiz.Asia Staff
April 23, 2012
UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, is facing money-laundering allegations following the disclosure of a series of documents linking Malaysian top politicians to secret UBS bank accounts in Hong Kong and Zurich. According to Malaysian media reports, the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) and Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) have been tracing the flow of over USD90 million through UBS bank accounts in Hong Kong, which are alleged to be kickbacks for the illegal logging of tropical hardwoods in the Malaysian state of Sabah in Borneo, one of the world’s most biodiverse habitats.
View more
A hammerhad shark, de-finned
Multi-billion dollar Asian shark fin industry under pressure
Gerry O'Kane
October 05, 2011
The seedy business of shark fishing is coming under increasing pressure in its own main market – Asia. It's a business that could be worth over USD30 billion a year. The latest move against the business was the announcement of Singapore's supermarket chain Cold Storage (a subsidiary of Dairy Farm International Holdings) that it has joined the WWF Singapore Sustainable Seafood Group with a commitment to stop selling shark fin and shark products in its 42 outlets across the country.
View more