Former Malaysia PM Najib Razak enlists PR help

Former prime minister Najib Razak (pictured) has appointed Karv Communications to offer strategic communications and media relations support. According to the document filed with the US Department of Justice seen by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, this includes any legal action that may arise in the US. Karv is working together with Scivetti & Associates, which represents Najib.

Karv will charge US$70,000 a month for two months, with the full payment of US$140,000 due upon signing of the agreement. In the event that Karv suspends its services for any reason, including but not limited to a mistrial, Karv warrants that it will resume services, if and when circumstances allow and the parties mutually agree, through December 2022. According to Politico, Karv will help ensure "Najib's actions and views are understood by US journalists and presented accurately in any US media coverage". The appointment comes amidst the trial of former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng in New York. 

Najib was sentenced to 12 years in jail and faced a fine of US$49.3 million in 2020 as a result of his involvement with the 1MDB scandal. He was found guilty by the KL High Court for money laundering, criminal breach of trust, and abuse of power. Media reports including CNBC said Najib had allegedly received nearly US$10 million illegally from SRC International, a unit under 1MDB.

Karv has a global footprint with a global PR firm based in Stockholm with offices in Brussels, London, a speciality firm in Vienna, a growing public affairs firm based in Berlin, presence across Asia, Africa, and South America and boasts strong relationships in the UAE and throughout the greater Middle East.

The firm also has a number of key relationships across the political spectrum in Washington, DC, where it partners to deliver all aspects of lobbying and public affairs services on a federal level. Its partners include some of the top government relations firms in the country.

It has services in legal, management consultancy, lobbying, financial advising, technology, risk management, and other in-house or outside advisors. Karv's communications offering includes corporate communication, financial communications, crisis communications, public affairs, and reputation management.

Some of Karv's services under personal reputation management include tailored messaging and positioning, social media strategy and execution across all platforms, targeted media outreach and stakeholder management, and creating a positive narrative and online presence.

Karv is founded by Andrew Frank who has 25 years of experience overseeing and implementing crisis preparation, managing product recalls, financial and/or regulatory issues, and identifying and managing communications issues around complicated litigation. He was previously a White House communications representative. From 1992 to 1997, he was a political appointee in the Clinton Administration, including managing director of the United States Information Agency’s New York Foreign Press Center, and senior advisor for communications to the director of U.S.I.A beginning in January 1993.

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