Jho Low ordered Najib's aides to open overseas bank accounts, says witness

1MDB | In 2012, 1MDB-linked businessperson Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, ordered two of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's aides to open overseas bank accounts under their names for political purposes, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur heard this morning.

Najib's former special officer Amhari Effendi Nazaruddin (photo, above right) said this happened during a meeting he and the late Azlin Alias had with Jho Low.

Amhari, the eighth prosecution witness in Najib's 1MDB criminal trial, testified that he and Azlin feared for their safety as well as that of their families, should they refuse the order.

Azlin was Najib's chief private secretary at that time and also Amhari's superior.

According to Amhari's testimony, Low had told the two aides that Najib had given his "blessing" for the plan.

"I know that he had met Najib before (the meeting) because Low told us that this matter had received (Najib's) blessing, and both of us were ordered to open the accounts 'just in case and for standby'.

"Azlin (above) and I understood that the blessing meant a greenlight from Najib," Amhari testified, reading from his witness statement during the fourth day of the 1MDB hearing.

Amhari, who used to work for Najib for 10 years since 2008, added that he and Azlin had concerns about following the order.

This was due to Low saying that the accounts might be used for political purposes, and he (Low) would be the one operating the accounts.

He said at another meeting, the businessperson had tried to address their concerns by saying that Amhari and Azlin would be protected by Najib if anything happens.

"But Low gave us the assurance that we should not worry and should trust him. He even told us that 'boss will take care'.

"The boss he was referring to was Najib."

Amhari said neither he nor Azlin gave any decision to Jho Low.

However, he expected that they would eventually have to agree to the plan or risk the safety of their families, career and their selves.

According to Amhari, Azlin had later agreed to open the overseas accounts in his name after another secret meeting with Low, and he had to follow Azlin's decision.

"After Low left, Azlin said to me that we had no choice but to follow Low's order because if we didn't, we might lose our jobs.

"He said it could also potentially pose harm to our families and ourselves as we already knew the plan."

Amhari said Low then took them to Singapore where they opened the accounts under the "manipulation" of Jho Low, who was helped by a BSI Bank officer by the name of Yvonne and another BSI officer whose name he could not recall.

Witness: 'US$800,000 in my BSI Switzerland account in 2016'

Amhari said his BSI account has been under the control of Low since its opening.

The witness said he only heard about the account some four years later, when a BSI Switzerland officer called him in early 2016 to ask if he knew how much he had left in the account.

When Amhari said he did not know, the officer then informed him that he had a balance of over US$800,000 in the account.

"I was shocked because I did not know anything about the money. I then asked for the officer's opinion on deposits made into the account.

"The officer only told me that he would contact me again."

Amhari testified that he received another call later from the bank and was informed that his connection with the bank would be terminated and that he had to transfer the money in his account to another bank account or company registered under his name.

This development was relayed to Low (above) who then arranged for Amhari to open a new bank account in Shanghai.

However, Amhari said the attempt to open an account with the bank in Shanghai unsuccessful, and Low ordered him to go to Bangkok to open an account with Kasikorn Bank.

After the account was opened, he said a fax was sent to BSI Switzerland from the Shangri La Hotel in Dubai, ordering the bank to transfer the balance of his account to the new Kasikorn Bank new account.

Amhari said the instruction to BSI was sent from Dubai as Low did not want to use a Malaysian phone number.

He added that two days later, BSI contacted him to inform that the transaction was unsuccessful.

Amhari informed this to Low who said that he would settle the issue.

"However, until today, I do not know what happened to the monies in the account," he said.

The court also heard from Amhari that his late boss Azlin had once advised him not to touch any money that was deposited into their overseas accounts.

He said the advice was given by Azlin after a secret meeting with Low sometime after the BSI accounts were opened.

"After Low left (the meeting), Azlin had advised me not to ever use monies in the accounts because they are not ours.

"Besides, it was Low who controlled and managed the accounts. Azlin also advised me to follow orders and just play along," he added. - Mkini