Former House Speaker and Leyte 1st District Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez strongly denied having any connection with a Swiss-British national allegedly implicated in the corruption scandal involving Malaysia’s 1MDB investment fund.
According to an earlier report by the Sarawak Report, Patrick Mahony, former PetroSaudi Chief Investment Officer, is said to be based in Manila and reportedly serving as a consultant for the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC).
The same report also alleged that Mahony had been frequently seen attending gatherings with Romualdez in the city.
Romualdez, however, vehemently refuted the accusations, calling them false, baseless, and misleading.
“I join the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) in completely denouncing the false and baseless allegations published by certain online sources,” he said.
“I have never had any discussion, meeting, or communication with any individual regarding investments, advisory roles, or management decisions involving the Maharlika Wealth Fund. The reports attempting to link me to such matters are entirely unfounded, misleading, and malicious,” Romualdez emphasized.
It may be recalled that during Romualdez’s tenure as House Speaker, the Maharlika Investment Fund Act was passed into law.