The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak involving the alleged misappropriation of funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd enters its 52nd day today at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Bank Negara obtained AmBank documents before MACC in 2015
- Jho Low's associates suspected to be in the same countries as him
- HK Interpol was alerted Jho Low at Repulse Bay last year
- Jho Low was last detected at Subang airport on May 29, 2015
- China, Myanmar among possible hideouts for Jho Low, Nik Faisal
- Court issued arrest warrant for Nik Faisal, Jho Low in May 2018
- 'Jho Low, Nik Faisal promised to assist MACC probe in 2015'
- MACC couldn't find Jho Low's parents, says officer
- Nik Faisal left Malaysia two days before GE14 - witness
Thank you for following Malaysiakini's live report
5.33pm - Thank you for following our live report today.
Court adjourns for the day
5.02pm - Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali allows proceedings to adjourn and resume at 9am tomorrow.
This follows an application by DPP Suhaimi Ibrahim who informs the court that the prosecution's line of questioning for MACC Investigating Officer Rosli Hussain will move onto the list of documents which will take time.
Bank Negara obtained AmBank documents before MACC in 2015
4.20pm - The court hears from MACC investigating officer Rosli Hussain that its investigators in SRC International case had visited AmBank on July 6, 2015, to acquire documents to facilitate their probe.
Among the documents they were seeking from AmBank include banking statements related to accounts owned by SRC International, then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, remittance documents, receipts of banking transactions, and cheques.
However, according to Rosli, MACC could only acquire photocopies from the bank as they were told that Bank Negara officers had already carted away the documents when they raided the bank earlier on the same day.
He tells the court that he had then written a letter to the central bank's Financial Intelligence Division requesting for the documents to be surrendered to MACC.
MACC received the documents from Bank Negara on May 30 last year.
Jho Low's associates suspected to be in the same countries as him
3.45pm - MACC Investigating Officer Rosli Hussain testifies that Low Taek Jho's four associates - Jasmine Loo, Casey Tang, Terence Geh and Eric Tan - were suspected to be in the same countries as him.
The 57th witness says this during examination by DPP Ishak Mohd Yusoff.
Rosli says MACC had contacted the Interpol National Central Bureaus of the countries Low and his associates frequent or believed to be located for the distribution of Red Notices.
Ishak: Which countries?
Rosli: Same as I mentioned (for Jho Low) - China, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, St Kitts and Nevis.
Ishak: Were the Red Notices executed?
Rosli: Not until today.
HK Interpol was alerted Jho Low at Repulse Bay last year
3.15pm - MACC investigating officer Rosli Hussain testifies that Malaysian authorities had alerted Hong Kong Interpol's national central bureau last year on the whereabouts of wanted 1MDB-linked businessperson Low Taek Jho.
According to the witness, both Low and another suspect in the 1MDB case, Tan Kim Loong, were at the Maggie and Rose Club in Repulse Bay.
This information was relayed to Hong Kong authorities by Bukit Aman through an email sent on June 17, 2018.
However, he says the Hong Kong authorities were unable to find Low there.
Jho Low's last movement was at Subang airport on May 29, 2015: MACC IO
3.05pm - Low Taek Jho's last detected movement was at the Subang airport terminal on May 29, 2015, testifies MACC investigating officer Rosli Hussain.
The 57th witness also says that SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil's last movement was detected at KLIA airport, Sepang, on May 7, 2018.
"Jho Low's last movement was at the Subang (airport) terminal on May 29, 2015, while Nik Faisal's last movement was him exiting (flying off from) KLIA on May 7, 2018," says Rosli.
China, Myanmar among possible hideouts for Jho Low, Nik Faisal
2.50pm - MACC suspected that 1MDB-linked businessperson Low Taek Jho and former SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil were hiding in several Asian countries, the court hears.
According to MACC investigating officer Rosli Hussain, these countries include China (specifically, the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau), Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, and China.
He says that MACC had also asked the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) to issue a Red Notice for the two fugitives.
A Red Notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition.
Interpol had issued the notice on June 11 last year, says Rosli.
He adds that Malaysia revoked Nik Faisal and Jho Low’s passports on July 25 and June 14 last year, respectively.
Court issued arrest warrant for Nik Faisal, Jho Low in May 2018
2.35pm - The Kuala Lumpur Magistrates’ Court issued an arrest warrant for SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil and wanted businessperson Low Taek Jho on May 22, 2018.
MACC investigating officer Rosli Hussain tells DPP Ishak Mohd Yusoff this during the examination-in-chief.
"On May 22, 2018, the KL Magistrates Court issued the arrest warrant (for Nik Faisal and Jho Low)," Rosli says.
He adds that this was meant to aid the MACC in its investigation of the case.
'Jho Low, Nik Faisal promised to assist MACC probe in 2015'
2.30pm - The court hears from MACC investigating officer Rosli Hussain that investigators did not impose bail bonds on 1MDB-linked businessperson Low Taek Jho and former SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, as they had promised to cooperate with authorities in 2015.
Rosli testifies under examination-in-chief by DPP Ishak Mohd Yusoff that MACC had recorded statements from Nik Faisal twice in Oct 2015.
Both statements were taken in Jakarta, Indonesia.
According to Rosli, MACC officers had also recorded a statement from Low on Nov 27, 2015 in Abu Dhabi.
"Because both of them had their statements recorded and they gave their commitment, we were confident that they would return to Malaysia to co-operate in this trial.
"For this reason, MACC did not impose bail bonds on them," he says.
The court then hears from Rosli that, on May 14 last year, MACC had asked the Immigration Department to place Nik Faisal and Low on a travel blacklist alongside four others.
MACC couldn’t find Jho Low's parents, says officer
2.25pm - MACC investigating officer Rosli Hussain testifies that the anti-graft agency failed to locate fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho's parents at a Penang residence in 2015.
He says this during examination-in-chief by DPP Ishak Mohd Yusoff.
"My officers tried to locate Jho Low in Penang, at the house address, (but we) did not find him there.
"Efforts to locate his mother and father were also not successful.
"Immigration checks showed that Jho Low had been out of the country since May 29, 2015, and has never returned," the 57th witness says.
Nik Faisal left M'sia two days before GE14 - witness
2.19pm - Former SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil left the country two days before polling day for Malaysia's 14th general election last year, the court hears.
According to MACC investigating officer Rosli Hussain, this was based on the anti-graft agency’s findings when it tried to locate him.
Rosli testifies that checks also found that 1MDB-linked businessperson Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, had left the country on May 29, 2015.
Both of them had not returned to Malaysia since, he says.
2.15pm - Najib Abdul Razak enters the dock as proceedings begin.
2.07pm - Najib enters the court and takes a seat in the front row of the public gallery to await the start of proceedings.
Earlier this morning, the former prime minister attended a Federal Court hearing regarding his last-ditch effort to postpone his RM2.28 billion 1MDB trial.
However, the apex court unanimously rejected his bid today, paving the way for the trial to commence on Aug 19.
The 1MDB trial will be heard before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
The prosecution stage of Najib Abdul Razak’s RM42 million SRC International graft trial inches closer to the finishing line with MACC investigating officer Rosli Hussain (above) expected to resume his testimony today.
However, the 52nd day of the former prime minister’s trial for abuse of power, corruption and money-laundering will only resume at 2pm this afternoon.
Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali last week allowed proceedings to start later today because Najib and his defence team needed to attend a Federal Court hearing held earlier this morning.
At the apex court, both the prosecution and defence made a last-ditch effort to postpone Najib’s RM2.28 billion 1MDB trial which is currently scheduled to begin before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah on Aug 19.
Both parties contended the postponement was necessary because there is a high likelihood the SRC International trial will not end even by next week, risking a clash with the 1MDB hearing.
- Mkini
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