BMF's campaign gaining traction in Australia for recovery of AS$30m allegedly stolen from Sarawak

ADELAIDE, September 10, 2015 -The Bruno Manser Fund's campaign for the recovery of stolen assets to Sarawak, Malaysia, has gained traction today with extensive media reports on the alleged laundering of $30 million.

BMF executive director Lukas Straumann and Jenny Weber of the Bob Brown Foundation briefed the press in a boardroom of the Adelaide Hilton hotel this morning on the dodgy origins of the funds with which the Hilton was purchased  in 1994.

 From left: Lukas Straumann, Mark Parnell and Jenny Weber in South Australia's corridors of power

In the afternoon, South Australian Greens MP Mark Parnell brought the issue to the attention of South Australia's Legislative Council, the Upper House.

A motion was placed in the Legislative Council in which the South Australian government is asked "to freeze all assets owned by those named in the campaign in South Australia, consistent with South Australia's unexplained wealth legislation, where no credible explanation for the lawful origin of that wealth can be given".

Parnell also said the issue should be brought to the attention of "approriate Federal Govenrment and law enforcement agencies."

Tomorrow, the Bruno Manser Fund's " Asset Recovery Australia Tour" will continue in Canberra where Lukas Straumann and Jenny Weber will meet up with eight senators and MPs from different parties to discuss appropriate political and legal steps that could be undertaken in Australia.