1MDB TRIAL | 1MDB’s former general counsel Jasmine Loo testified today that then prime minister and finance minister Najib Abdul Razak “cleared” her of wrongdoing over the troubled sovereign wealth fund in 2017.
While under re-examination by deputy public prosecutor T Deepa Nair at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, Loo said she was called to give a statement to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the police in 2016.
In the end, she said she only had her statement recorded by the police.
The 50-year-old key prosecution witness, who left Malaysia in early 2018 and only returned in July last year, testified her belief that Najib “cleared” her a year earlier.
Loo noted that no action was taken against her in 2016.
“I believe that Najib cleared me,” Loo said, adding that she saw a news article where Najib in a parliamentary reply said the investigation had been completed and that she was cleared.
She was referring to media reports on March 8, 2017, where Najib answered in a written reply to the then-Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen.
Najib reportedly said that Loo and another former 1MDB executive Casey Tang had been removed from the BNM watchlist, as the authorities had completed their investigations and taken action against 1MDB.
“For your information, the investigation involving the two individuals has been completed and based on its outcome, enforcement action was taken against the company according to existing laws with consent from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), whereby BNM issued a compound later to the 1MDB administration for failing to fully adhere to the orders issued under the Financial Services Act 2013,” Najib had said.
Wong then asked if the Finance Ministry was working with the Immigration Department to contact Loo and Tang, and if the duo were still under BNM’s wanted list for investigations under the Financial Services Act 2013.
Mere removal from BNM watchlist
However, during this afternoon’s RM2.27 billion 1MDB corruption trial against Najib, lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah reminded the High Court that what happened instead was that Loo and Tang were removed from the BNM watchlist after the central bank had issued a compound against the fund.
“The police and MACC did not clear her,” the lawyer said.
Loo and Tang were associates of 1MDB-linked fugitive Low Taek Jho (Jho Low).
‘I received nearly RM100m gift from Low’
During the 1MDB trial, Loo testified that she received a gift of nearly RM100 million from Low when she resigned from 1MDB in 2013, after two years of service.
The witness said the payment of over RM90 million was for work she did for UBG Bhd, which was owned by Low.
She previously testified that she met Low when she first joined UBG in 2008 as a law executive. She joined 1MDB in 2011 when the businessperson indicated he had no objection to her switching companies.
The trial will resume on April 22.
Najib is on trial for four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.27 billion from 1MDB.
For the four abuse of power charges, the former Pekan MP is alleged to have committed the offences at AmIslamic Bank Bhd’s Jalan Raja Chulan branch in Bukit Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur, between Feb 24, 2011, and Dec 19, 2014.
On the 21 money laundering counts, Najib is purported to have committed the offences at the same bank between March 22, 2013, and Aug 30, 2013.
1MDB is fully owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated.
Najib was chairperson of 1MDB’s board of advisers. - Mkini
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