AUDIT TAMPERING TRIAL | The actions of one National Audit Department (NAD) staff in 2016 helped to preserve evidence of modifications to the department's audit of 1MDB.
NAD officer Nor Salwani Muhammad told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today that she secretly kept one of 60 copies of the original report which the department had prepared in 2016.
Her boss at the time - auditor-general Ambrin Buang - had ordered for all 60 to be destroyed to prevent leaks. Only the modified copy was submitted to the Public Accounts Committee.
Nor Salwani's copy of the audit report carried the watermark "09". This document was tendered as evidence in the trial against former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak for ordering the tampering of the audit report.
"I kept the report to be given to the new auditor-general. With pure intention, I had surrendered the report watermarked '09' to allow the new auditor-general to get the whole picture about the audit findings," said Salwani.
She also informed the court that she had secretly kept a copy just in case it was needed as a reference.
Salwani had also produced more key evidence in the form of a two hours and 45-minute audio recording of a meeting on Feb 24, 2016, held by top officials from government and 1MDB.
She told the court that she had hidden a voice recorder in a stationary case of fellow NAD officer Saadatul Nafisah who attended the meeting because her job was to minute the meeting, despite not being allowed inside.
The meeting was chaired by the then chief secretary to the government Ali Hamsa. Participants included then auditor-general Ambrin Buang, then chief private secretary to the prime minister Shukry Salleh, then 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy and Attorney-General's Chambers officer Dzulkifli Ahmad.
"I should have been present because this was regarding our audit because I was the coordinator. So, I should take the minutes," Salwani told the court.
Yesterday, Ali was called to the stand where he confirmed the authenticity of the audio recording and identified several voices.
The original audit report was prepared by a team of 12 NAD officers led by Saadatul. Salwani, then with the rank of deputy director of audit, was the team coordinator.
The team members were appointed by Ambrin on March 9, 2015, to audit the 1MDB group of companies following an order from the cabinet.
Nor Salwani is currently the director of NAD's governance sector.
- Mkini
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