'I didn't destroy original 1MDB audit report as it contained material evidence'

1MDB AUDIT TRIAL | Former auditor-general Madinah Mohamad testified that she decided not to destroy the original copy of the 1MDB audit report as it contained material evidence on the sovereign wealth fund.

The 12th prosecution witness was giving oral evidence during today’s 1MDB audit report trial against former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and the sovereign wealth fund’s former CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy.

During proceedings before the Kuala Lumpur High Court, Madinah (above) testified that she made the decision not to destroy the 1MDB audit report with watermark “09”, following her meeting with National Audit Department (NAD) auditor Nor Salwani Muhammad in March 2017.

The prosecution witness said that Nor Salwani had told her that there were two versions of the 1MDB audit report, with the watermark “09” version being the original unaltered version.

Madinah said that Nor Salwani told her she had been keeping the original version so that it could be handed to the former to decide whether it should be destroyed or not due to it containing material information and evidence on 1MDB.

Ninth report

“I refer to 1MDB audit report document marked watermark '09' and I confirm this is the 1MDB audit report that has been finalised that was shown by Nor Salwani to me.

“I confirm the 'watermark 09' where each page of the report shows that it is the ninth report out of 10 copies that was finalised.

“I later made the decision to not destroy this (original) report because it contained material information and evidence about 1MDB,” Madinah told trial judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan.

National Audit Department auditor Nor Salwani Muhammad

She added that following the change of government from the BN to the Pakatan Harapan administration in 2018, she handed copies of the watermark "09" 1MDB audit report to the then Council of Eminent Persons (CEP), the police and the MACC.

This copy became one of the central evidence used by the prosecution in the audit report case against Najib and Arul Kanda.

Back in 2019 during the trial of the case, fifth prosecution witness Nor Salwani testified that she secretly kept one of the original copies of the 1DMB audit report, which the NAD prepared in 2016.

She testified her boss at the time - auditor-general Ambrin Buang - had ordered that all of the copies to be destroyed to prevent leaks. Only the modified copy was submitted to the Public Accounts Committee.

Nor Salwani's copy of the audit report carried the watermark "09". This document was tendered as evidence in the trial.

Najib is charged with using his position to order amendments to 1MDB's final audit report before it was presented to the PAC in order to prevent any action against him.

Co-accused Arul Kanda was charged with abetting Najib in making the amendments.

The charges are framed under Section 23 (1) of the MACC Act 2009, which specify a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of no less than five times the amount of gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

The prosecution is contending that a decision to make the amendments was taken during a meeting on Feb 24, 2016, at the office of the then chief secretary to the government Ali Hamsa.

It was alleged this was done to remove or alter certain portions of the 1MDB audit report, including dropping the issue of wanted fugitive Low Taek Jho’s (Jho Low) attendance at the fund’s board meetings.

Another issue that was allegedly dropped from the 1MDB audit report was the two conflicting 2014 financial statements of the sovereign wealth fund.

Besides Ali and Arul Kanda, others who were present at the meeting were Ambrin, former NAD officer Saadatul Nafisah Ahmad Bashir, Najib’s former chief private secretary Shukry Salleh, and the then Attorney-General’s Chambers representative Dzulkifli Ahmad. - Mkini