The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak involving the alleged abuse of power and money laundering of 1MDB funds enters its 20th day today at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Hearing adjourns early as Shahrol not well
- Shahrol unwell, asks to be excused from afternoon session
- Ex-1MDB CEO disagrees that he is merely an 'ornament' in 1MDB
- Jho Low was 'consigliere' to Najib, says Shahrol
- Najib agreed to federal takeover of Terengganu Investment Authority
- LV boss, Qatar PM were once members of 1MDB's board of advisers
Thank you for following Malaysiakini's live report
12.30pm - Thank you for following our live report today.
Hearing adjourns early as Shahrol not well
12.10am - Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah allows a request by witness Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi for him to be excused early today due to health issues.
Shahrol (photo), who is a former 1MDB CEO, tells the judge that he is feeling under the weather.
Shahrol: I'm feeling very down and under the weather.
Collin: You're not in a position to continue?
Shahrol: Yes, I don't think I should (continue).
The judge then adjourns the trial which will resume on Monday morning.
Shahrol unwell, asks to be excused from afternoon session
10.50am - DPP Gopal Sri Ram says that prosecution witness Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi is not well.
Shahrol makes a request to judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah if he can be excused from the afternoon session to seek treatment.
Sequerah then tells the witness to update the court again on his condition when the court breaks for lunch.
The court then goes for a 15-minutes break.
Ex-1MDB CEO disagrees that he is merely an 'ornament' in 1MDB
10.48am - Former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi disagrees to a suggestion by the defence that he was just a "decoration" in the company.
He disagreed when Shafee puts it to him as being a mere "soprammobile" or table ornament for following Jho Low's instructions in running the company.
Shafee's question comes as Shahrol testifies that he had trusted Low's words without making any checks or confirmations.
Jho Low was 'consigliere' to Najib, says Shahrol
10.45am - Wanted businessperson Jho Low was the "consigliere" for the then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi testifies.
Shafee is asking Shahrol on Jho Low's role in 1MDB, especially in light of a meeting of Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) in June 2009 where representatives of the then Agong Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin had complained about Jho Low's role.
"He (Jho Low) was representing Najib at the time, the Italian word was 'consigliere'. He gets things done for the prime minister," Shahrol says.
A consigliere is an advisor to an Italian mob boss.
Najib agreed to federal takeover of Terengganu Investment Authority
10.20am - The court hears that wanted businessperson Jho Low had said that the then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak consented to Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) being taken over by the federal government.
Former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi says Low had told him this during cross-examination from Najib's lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
Shahrol is explaining about the letter issued by him to Najib on June 25, 2009 recommending for the federalisation of TIA.
"At that time I was looking at a flurry of letters. That was very "kelam kabut" (confusing) time as I wanted Jho (Low) to clarify with me what is the wishes of the prime minister (Najib).
"Eventually when this letter was produced, he (Jho Low) came to me and said Najib had agreed to the federalisation transformation of TIA to 1MDB," he says.
LV boss, Qatar PM were once members of 1MDB's board of advisers
10.10am - The court hears from Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi that the company had once had four international figures on its international board of advisers.
According to the former 1MDB CEO, these figures include fashion conglomerate Louis Vuitton's chairperson and CEO Bernard Arnault, former Qatar prime minister Jaber al-Thani, CITIC Group chairperson Chang Zhenming, and Mubadala CEO Khaldoon al Mubarak.
Shahrol testifies that a letter of appointment to the board of advisers was sent to these figures, including Arnault (photo) whom he personally met in Paris to deliver the letter.
He says Arnault had verbally accepted his appointment to the board while Zhenming had also replied with a letter of acceptance.
Under cross-examination by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Shahrol says that all the personalities were suggested by Jho Low.
When asked on the logic behind the appointment of figures like Arnault, who is in the fashion business, Shahrol says that Arnault was among the top businesspersons in the world at that time.
"Bernard Arnault clearly one of the leading business people in the world. I think that's enough justification. He was among top 5 richest, I think," he says.
However, according to Shahrol, there was never an international board of advisers meeting called albeit efforts had been done to do so.
He says that this was due to failure to find an opportunity to get all of them together at one place.
Proceedings begin as Najib enters the dock.
9.48am - Lead DPP Gopal Sri Ram informs the court that lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik is present and holding a watching brief on behalf of Goldman Sachs in the trial.
9.46am - Proceedings begin as accused Najib Abdul Razak steps into the dock.
Najib Abdul Razak's lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah is set to cross-examine former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi over "areas that the witness, unfortunately or fortunately, had mentioned things I cannot leave untouched."
These words of intent are hints of what the defence team is trying to uncover from ninth witness Shahrol during the 20th day of Najib's RM2.28 billion 1MDB trial today.
Yesterday, Shafee informed Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah that the defence's line of questioning for today's proceedings would touch on events surrounding the "federalisation" of Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) into 1MDB in mid-2009.
The veteran legal practitioner had said that the defence intends to show the suspiciously rushed nature of TIA's issuance of RM5 billion in Islamic Medium Term Notes (IMTN) that same year (2009) and that Najib did not know about wanted businessperson Jho Low's alleged attempt to make money from this, among others.
Shafee had also indicated that today's cross-examination would seek to show that all of these interrelated events had led to TIA becoming a federal entity through an acquisition by Minister of Finance Incorporated in July 2009. - Mkini
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