KUALA LUMPUR: Former 1MDB chief executive officer Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi told the High Court today that Terengganu’s Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin was furious over the issuance of Islamic medium term notes used to secure a RM5 billion loan for then state sovereign fund Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA).
Shahrol said that he and former 1MDB director Ismee Ismail were summoned to Istana Terengganu on Jalan Kia Peng here on May 22, 2009 to meet Sultan Mizan.
“I remember I went there after Friday prayers. Ismee and I were taken to a meeting room at the istana. Tuanku Mizan and his sister Tengku Rahimah later came in.
“Tuanku showed me a document that Tengku Rahimah had signed earlier. His exact words to me was ‘please sign this resolution, you can read it if you want’.
“I was speechless at the time and felt something was not right with Tuanku’s tone, that he looked angry,” he said in his witness statement in Najib Razak’s 1MDB money laundering and abuse of power trial
Shahrol said he and Ismee looked at each other but he did not tell him anything about why Sultan Mizan was angry and asked him to sign the resolution.
“I quickly read the resolution and came to know it was was about suspending the Islamic medium term notes until certain criteria would be fulfilled,” he said, adding that fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho had earlier told him there were no obstacles to issue the notes.
Shahrol said Sultan Mizan used the term “unsavoury character” but he did not know who the ruler was referring to.
He said it was the first time he had heard about the state imposing criteria on the notes as Low and Najib had never informed him about these criteria.
“Ismee and I were not given a chance to explain the notes and we were not given a copy of the resolution. We were later told to leave the istana,” he said.
After they left, he said Ismee asked him to call Low to tell him what happened. He said Low expressed surprise after hearing the istana episode.
“Low said he would call me back and also asked me to go to Datuk Seri’s house on Langgak Duta that night.
“When I reached the Langgak Duta house, Datuk Seri and Low were already in the living room. They seemed to have been in a discussion earlier and were waiting for me.
“I explained what had happened at the istana to Datuk Seri where Tuanku ordered the Islamic medium term notes to be suspended but Ambank said the notes cannot be suspended because the deal has been inked,” Shahrol added, referring to the contract that had been signed with Ambank to obtain the RM5 billion.
He said Najib told him to go ahead with issuance of the notes and “I will talk to Tuanku”.
“I took Datuk Seri’s word as an order and mandate to proceed with the issuance because he (Najib) is the minister in charge of giving government guarantees to TIA,” Shahrol said.
Najib is charged with 25 counts of money laundering and abuse of power over alleged 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited in his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.
The hearing before High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues. - FMT
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