Jho Low: I don't control Najib's accounts nor have authority to decide in 1MDB, SRC

SRC TRIAL | Fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho said he had no control over former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's bank accounts.

Low added that while he may have conveyed his views to Najib about 1MDB and SRC International, he ultimately did not have the power to decide for others.

This is according to Low's statement made to the MACC when he was questioned in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on November 27, 2015.

This statement was today tendered to the Kuala Lumpur High Court during Najib's SRC International graft trial, which is the only take of Low's side of the story as he is now on the run overseas.

The statement runs contrary to the defence's case which is painting Low as someone who had pulled the strings without Najib's knowledge.

"From what I can recall, the prime minister (Najib) may have discussed with me about 1MDB and SRC.

"The prime minister may have asked for my views, but like any other Malaysians, I will offer my views, but I have no decision making authority, and I do not make any decisions for others on matters that I am not empowered to do so," he had said in the 2015 statement.

During that interview with the MACC, Low was also asked about specific bank accounts owned by Najib, which investigators believe received money that could be traced to 1MDB and SRC International.

"I don't have authorisation or access to these five accounts.

"I am not the authorised person to check the balance and manage these five accounts.

"To the best of my recollection, at the material time, I have no personal knowledge whether these accounts belong to the prime minister," he said.

During the course of Najib's SRC trial, the court has heard that Najib's then banker Jonna Yu at AmBank had been taking instructions from Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil and Low on Najib's bank accounts.

The court had also heard that, based on mobile chat transcripts, Low had intervened on behalf of Najib's family when his credit card transaction was rejected at a luxury store in Hawaii in 2014, by communicating with AmBank.

However, Low denied managing Najib's credit cards.

"To the best of my recollection, I don't know who is the account holder of AmBank platinum card number XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-5496 and XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-8961, and I didn't manage the spending and payment of these two credit card accounts.

"I don't have authorisation or access to these accounts. I don't know how many credit cards the prime minister has at Ambank, and I am not mandated to manage his spending.

"To the best of my recollection, I don't know about the payment of his credit card and also the source of income into the accounts.

"To the best of my recollection, I also don't know if 1MDB/SRC's monies were deposited into the accounts," he said.

Low, in his statement, was also questioned by the MACC about the chat transcripts between him and Najib's banker, line by line, but gave the same answer to every line: "To the best of my recollection, I do not recall such a conversation, and neither do I understand the context of the message".

Najib is standing trial for seven charges of money laundering, criminal breach of trust and abuse of power involving RM42 million in funds from SRC International.

The case is being presided over by High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali. - Mkini