The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak involving the alleged misappropriation of funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd enters its 24th day today at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- I didn't meet Najib on suspicion over SRC accounts - witness
- Sometimes I don't understand what you are saying - witness to lawyer
Sometimes I don't understand what you are saying - witness to lawyer
10.35am - Former SRC International chairperson Ismee Ismail insists that the company's board of directors (BOD) still has the discretion to not follow a purported instruction from its main shareholder if there is a doubt on its veracity.
The 39th witness says this during cross-examination by lawyer Harvinderjit Singh.
"Even though we need to follow (shareholder instruction), we have a choice if there is something wrong. Board will decide (if there is something on the matter with purported instruction)," Ismee says.
When Harvinderjit asks what is the standard for determining this, Ismee says it is not something that can be penned down on paper.
The witness says that the SRC International board will deliberate on it, including how to carry out instruction properly.
Harvinderjit: I do not understand what you are saying.
Ismee: Sometimes I do not understand what you are saying.
The last answer elicits laughter from those present in court.
I didn't meet Najib on suspicion over SRC accounts - witness
10.15am - Former SRC International chairperson Ismee Ismail says that he did not meet then premier Najib regarding the suspicion on the audit status of the company's accounts as he needed to investigate the matter first.
During cross-examination by lawyer Harvinderjit Singh (above), the 39th witness disagrees with the lawyer's contention that he needed to report the matter with Najib.
"I disagree. I needed to investigate the non-filing, I called the auditor Deloitte on why the delay, they said several audit confirmations have not been received from the (SRC) management.
"I took responsibility and asked what the audit confirmation outstanding, they (Deloitte) gave me (info) which deals with local banks, among others.
"It was on my table for two weeks, I dealt with it one by one, I took responsibility to close the accounts.
"The reason Nik Faisal did not disclose, they said, was because busy with other matters," Ismee said, adding that he wanted to ensure the accounts were closed as he felt responsible.
He also said he did not escalate the matter to Najib as the problem has been resolved.
9.45am - Proceedings resume with former SRC International chairperson Ismee Ismail taking the stand for further cross-examination by Najib Abdul Razak's defence team.
9.38am - Najib Abdul Razak's lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah enters the courtroom after attending the mention of his RM9.5 million money laundering case in another court.
Also seen in court is attorney-general Tommy Thomas and other members of the prosecution as well as defence as they await the RM42 million SRC trial to resume.
9.11am - Najib Abdul Razak enters the dock as proceedings begin.
However, his defence counsel Wan Aizuddin Wan Mohammed informs Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali that the accused lead defence lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, is attending another case mention before another High Court judge, Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
Aizuddin then seeks a short stand-down until 9.45am until Shafee can come to the SRC proceedings.
Nazlan: The court was not told of this yesterday.
Aizuddin: We apologize as we missed the (mention before judge Collin today) in the diary.
Nazlan then allows temporary adjournment of the trial until 9.45am.
The case before judge Collin this morning is the mention of Shafee's money laundering involving RM9.5 million allegedly received from former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak (photo).
Harvinderjit Singh is Shafee's counsel for the money laundering case.
8.57am - Clad in a blue suit and clutching a copy of the book 'The Laws of Human Nature' by Robert Greene, accused Najib Abdul Razak enters the courtroom.
He is seen conferring with his defence counsel Yusof Zainal Abiden while awaiting for proceedings to begin.
8.40am - How much role does then SRC International chief executive officer (CEO) Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil played in the movement of the RM2 billion loan from Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP) to the then subsidiary of 1MDB?
This is the issue that may be further explored by Najib Abdul Razak's defence team when they resume their cross-examination of SRC International's former chairperson Ismee Ismail on the 24th day of the former prime minister's trial for abuse of power, corruption and money laundering of RM42 million from KWAP.
When proceedings resume before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali at 9am today, the defence team may grill the 39th witness for more oral evidence over Nik Faisal's dealings with the board of directors (BOD) of SRC International, which became fully owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated in early 2012.
Yesterday while under heavy questioning by defence lawyer Harvinderjit Singh, Ismee told the court that Nik Faisal, who is currently missing and actively sought by the authorities, misled and kept the company's BOD in the dark over key matters in relation to its financial management.
Among them was the existence of an AmIslamic Bank account with an account number ending with 736 which was registered under SRC International's name, into which the first KWAP loan tranche of RM2 billion was transferred on Aug 29, 2011, without the BOD's knowledge.
SRC International later receive a second tranche loan of RM2 billion from KWAP in early 2012.
Among other matters that Ismee revealed that was kept from the knowledge of the company's board members was that Nik Faisal did not inform them about him having early on sought a RM3.95 billion loan for SRC International in a letter to Najib dated June 3, 2011.
Prior to the first tranche of RM2 billion loan granted by KWAP to SRC International in August 2011, the company had made an official application for a RM3.95 billion loan from the fund.
The company's BOD only came into existence in August 2011, with Ismee being officially made its chairperson that same month. Prior to that as early as January 2011, SRC International only had Nik Faisal and Vincent Beng Huat Koh as the sole directors.
Najib's defence team may further question Ismee over the roles played by not only Beng but also that of the four authorised signatories of the 736 account, namely Nik Faisal, as well as Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, Terence Geh Choh Heng and Radhi Mohamed, who were 1MDB's CEO, executive director of finance, and chief financial officer respectively. - Mkini
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