1MDB TRIAL | Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak testified he never set foot in AmBank during the entire 1MDB episode.
The former finance minister said this in countering the validity of one of the four abuse of power charges levelled against him involving RM2.27 billion of funds from 1MDB.
During first day of the defence stage of his trial, Najib took aim at the abuse of power charge involving over RM60 million of funds, where the offence was claimed to have been committed at the commercial bank between Feb 24 2011 and June 14, 2011.
"No, I have never set foot in AmIslamic Bank, Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur between that period, nor have I ever been there at any other material times in relation to the entire 1MDB or SRC episodes," the accused told the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
During examination-in-chief by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Najib reiterated that MACC investigators never asked him about this alleged abuse of power during investigations.
Shafee: When were you first notified of this alleged abuse of position at AmIslamic Bank between Feb 24, 2011 and June 14, 2011?
Najib: I first heard about it when the charge was read to me upon being brought to court (in September 2018). I was so puzzled that I had to inquire from my lawyers about this allegation while the charges were being read to me.
Najib said he had told the MACC investigators about his belief that the remittances into his personal bank account were donations from the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and that the monies were from the Middle-eastern kingdom.
"Prior to those remittances, I was personally informed by the late Saudi monarch, His Majesty King Abdullah during a private audience with him back in 2010 where he conveyed through the interpreters, his intention that he would be supporting me financially and I have in fact received remittances from the Riyadh Bank Saudi Arabia.
"I have also received letters confirming this Saudi Arabian donation from King Abdullah through his royal representatives which were extended to AmBank and Bank Negara," Najib testified.
Hearing before trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues this afternoon.
On Oct 30, the court ordered Najib to enter his defence over four abuses of power and 21 money laundering charges involving RM2.27 billion of funds from 1MDB.
Sequerah ruled that the prosecution succeeded in establishing a prima facie (answerable) case against the former finance minister over the company that is wholly owned by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc).
The judge ruled that Najib had to answer the charges due to the strength of the various 50 witness testimonies during the prosecution stage of proceedings that lasted six years since the trial began in 2019.
The accused was first charged in 2018.
Jho Low’s involvement
Prosecutors claimed that fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) was involved in the financial wrongdoing at 1MDB - at the behest of Najib.
However, the former Pekan MP’s defence team contended that the accused had no knowledge of wrongdoing at the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, and the embezzlement there was solely perpetrated by Low and members of its management.
Najib is serving a six-year jail sentence over a separate abuse of power case involving RM42 million of funds from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
He is also facing an ongoing criminal trial for the RM27 million SRC money laundering case.
Previously, Najib was acquitted in another criminal case involving 1MDB’s audit report.
Last week, he was also granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal in the RM6.6 billion International Petroleum Investment Company criminal breach of trust case. - Mkini
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