1MDB TRIAL | Najib Abdul Razak called 1MDB’s then-chairperson to ensure its board would make a decision “efficiently” on a proposal to enter a US$1 billion joint venture (JV) with Petrosaudi International Limited (PSI), according to a defence witness.
1MDB former director Che Lodin Wok Kamaruddin’s testimony before the High Court in Putrajaya today backed the ex-prime minister’s contention that his telephone call to Bakke Salleh was not to pressure the board to enter the JV in late 2009.
The 75-year-old was recalling what transpired during a 1MDB board meeting on Sept 26 that year, whereby fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) handed his handphone to Bakke to connect the then-chairperson with Najib.
“After receiving the phone, Bakke went outside the (meeting) room and later informed the board that he had just spoken with the (then) prime minister Najib.
“He conveyed that the prime minister was aware of the joint venture discussions and emphasised the importance of making a decision efficiently.
“However, the board continued its deliberations by assessing the terms of the joint venture, considering various factors before arriving at a resolution,” Lodin told trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah over the meeting the witness attended.
He spoke today during the RM2.27 billion 1MDB abuse of power and money laundering trial against Najib, who also used to be a finance minister. 1MDB was fully owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc).
During examination-in-chief by defence counsel Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin about whether the witness felt that Najib instructed or directed for an expediting of a decision, Lodin said his understanding was that the ex-premier wanted the board to carefully evaluate the proposal and ensure it aligned with 1MDB’s objectives.
The sovereign wealth fund’s stated purpose was to ensure long-term sustainable development while safeguarding the economic well-being of Malaysians.
Lodin added that he and the board abided by Najib’s call for a careful evaluation by imposing certain pre-conditions, including prior evaluation of PSI’s assets.
Following 1MDB entering the JV with PSI, around US$700 million of the Malaysian fund’s monies were siphoned to offshore entity Good Star Limited, which is allegedly linked to Low who is still at large.
In 2022 during the 1MDB trial, Bakke testified that he resigned in late 2009 following his suspicion that Najib may have been involved in purported wrongdoing at 1MDB.
When Aiman queried whether Low was a proxy of Najib, Lodin testified he was never intimated on this, stressing that the fugitive “had no role or authority in 1MDB”.
Having served in 1MDB from 2009 to 2016 where he progressed from director to chairperson, Lodin said the board made decisions without any undue influence from Low.
Aiman: During your tenure as director of TIA (Terengganu Investment Authority, a forerunner to 1MDB), and later 1MDB, and ultimately as 1MDB board chairperson, did concerns about the possibility of removal by Najib ever influence or shape your approvals through DCRs (director’s circular resolutions) or in board meetings?
Lodin: No.
The former 1MDB chairperson reiterated that the board played an active role in corporate governance and decision-making.
Lodin stressed that his decision-making power was not constrained by Najib’s then position as prime minister, finance minister, and chairperson of 1MDB’s board of advisers.
“Decisions were made through proper deliberation, based on the information presented by management and various consultants, and in adherence to corporate governance principles. Also, all decisions were made collectively,” the defence witness reiterated.
The trial resumes tomorrow morning.
Prima facie case
On Oct 30 last year, the criminal court ordered Najib to enter his defence over four abuses of power and 21 money laundering charges involving RM2.27 billion from 1MDB.
Sequerah ruled that the prosecution succeeded in establishing a prima facie (answerable) case against Najib due to the strength of some 50 witness testimonies.
Between early December last year and late January this year, Najib spent 26 days on the witness stand trying to raise reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case.
Najib contended that he had neither knowledge nor involvement in wrongdoing at 1MDB, and that embezzlement at the troubled Malaysian sovereign wealth fund was solely masterminded by Low and other members of its management.
The former Umno president also contended that he was given a donation promise by the late Saudi King monarch King Abdullah during a meeting between them in Riyadh in 2010.
The accused has been serving a six-year jail sentence since August 2022 over a separate graft case involving RM42 million from SRC, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
Deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar prosecuted. - Mkini
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