The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak involving the alleged abuse of power and money laundering of 1MDB funds enters its 38th day today at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Court in stitches after Shahrol declares he can testify 'from 9am to 6pm'
- Ex-1MDB CEO's nasi goreng anecdote brings laughter in court
- Jho Low's talking points to buy PSOSL stake taken on 'good faith'
- 1MDB management calls Petrosaudi a 'pain in the a**'
- Shahrol denies being part of 'scam' involving PSOSL stake
- 1MDB board never saw financial papers proving PSOSL's standing
Court in stitches after Shahrol declares he can testify 'from 9am-6pm'
1.16pm - As proceedings were winding down for the day, former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi's quip that he could testify from 9am to 6pm put the whole court in stitches.
This comes when lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah applies to the court for the matter to be adjourned for the day and resume on June 3 as the lawyer is exhausted from conducting cross-examination while fasting.
At this point, ninth prosecution witness Shahrol explains that he is suffering from a sore throat while fasting and wonders whether the proceedings could continue later in June.
Shahrol then assures the court that when proceedings resume in June after the fasting month, he is prepared to testify "from 9am to 6pm".
Amidst the laughter in court, a smiling High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah then allows Shafee's application and the trial is adjourned for the day. It will resume on June 3.
Ex-1MDB CEO's nasi goreng anecdote brings laughter in court
12.50pm - Former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi's nasi goreng anecdote injects humour into the normally sombre trial of former premier Najib Abdul Razak's RM2.28 billion 1MDB trial.
The ninth prosecution witness' surprising story to explain why he trusted 1MDB-linked fugitive Jho Low was raised during cross-examination by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
"I trusted Low because of his actions... Najib was around him from the very beginning. He seems to have access (to Najib).
"One anecdote I can share with the court, I am well known to make good nasi goreng. I gave some to Jho Low, and he asked me if he can bring some to Najib.
"And then later he told me that Najib said it was good," Shahrol said, triggering chuckles from those present in court.
Jho Low's talking points to buy PSOSL stake taken on 'good faith'
12.26pm - Former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi says he did not verify businessperson Jho Low's claims related to the sovereign wealth fund buying a stake in Petrosaudi Oil Services Ltd (PSOSL) in 2012.
The ninth prosecution witness tells lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah this during cross-examination.
"I took it on good faith as this was done on the highest level consistent with the talking points (by Jho Low) and actions. I was not suspicious," Shahrol says.
Shafee then asks him that even if he had in mind that Jho Low had a close relationship with former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, Shahrol still could have taken it upon himself to verify Jho Low's claim.
"Not every time," Shahrol says, agreeing with Shafee that he is not sure whether Jho Low (below) was telling the truth as he (Shahrol) took it on good faith.
11.33am - Proceedings resume after a short break.
11.05am - Proceedings go for a short break.
1MDB management calls Petrosaudi a 'pain in the a**'
10.35am - Former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi is asked by defence lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah about the history behind names of several projects that the company was doing in 2012.
Among the projects was one that they called "Pita".
Explaining this to the court, Shahrol says that the name was derived from an internal joke in 1MDB management at that time, where they referred to Petrosaudi as a "pain in the a**", or in short, Pita.
Shafee: As a matter of curiosity. You remember this project Pita. What does Pita stand for?
Shahrol: That's an internal joke. P is for PSI, while ITA is "in the a**".
Shafee: Pita is Petrosaudi pain in the a**?
Shahrol: To repatriate the fund, yes.
Shafee: Why was it a joke in the management? Because you recognised it as such right? That the money is not coming?
Shahrol: Yes.
1MDB fund units in Petrosaudi similar to PNB units, says witness
10.25am - The court hears from the former 1MDB CEO that billions of ringgit in the form of "fund units" 1MDB had invested in Petrosaudi was similar to the fund units in Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB).
Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi says this under cross-examination by defence lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah when asked to explain what the fund unit actually is.
"The fund units are units similar to our PNB units. (These) units are held in a trust, and the trust is supposed to go and invest in actual companies and such," the prosecution witness testifies.
Shahrol denies being part of 'scam' involving 1MDB stake in PSOSL
10.18am - Former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi disagrees with the defence's suggestion that he was part of a scam involving the sovereign wealth fund's stake in Petrosaudi Oil Services Ltd (PSOSL) in 2012.
The ninth prosecution witness denies this suggestion by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah during cross-examination.
Shafee is questioning Shahrol over attempts to repatriate 1MDB money in Petrosaudi International (PSI) via the selling off of 1MDB's 49 percent stake in PSOSL to Bridge Partners International Investments.
Shafee is questioning why a few months after 1MDB acquired the stake in PSOSL in early 2012, it was then sold to Bridge Partners, especially with the involvement of then 1MDB general counsel Jasmine Loo and businessperson Jho Low among others.
"This is a scam no doubt, at the height of it the leader is Jho Low but it cannot operate alone (without) minions under him, including you and Jasmine, and the management placed nicely by Jho Low," Shafee said, among others.
To this, Shahrol says "disagree".
When Shafee insinuates to Shahrol that then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was conned in this matter too as the accused could not be micromanaging, Shahrol says he cannot comment on what Najib knew or not at the time.
1MDB board never saw financial papers proving PSOSL's standing
10am - The defence's cross-examination on ninth prosecution witness Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, who is the former 1MDB CEO, goes into the subject of 1MDB's acquisition of stakes in Petrosaudi Oil Services Ltd (PSOSL) in 2012.
The stakes were supposedly a part of the liquidation process for 1MDB's Murabahah notes that it had in a joint-venture with Petrosaudi.
However, according to Shahrol's testimony, the 1MDB board of directors had never seen any financial papers that proves PSOSL's financial standings.
Under examination by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Shahrol testifies that he is also not sure if Jasmine Loo, an executive of 1MDB then, had seen the audited account of PSOSL.
Shafee: So the board never saw the audited account of PSOSL to determine (this) for themselves?
Shahrol: The question is whether the board got to saw (it)? No.
Shafee: (How about) the management?
Shahrol: I didn't. I don't know if Jasmine did.
According to the cross-examination, Shahrol had also never seen for himself two oil exploration vessels named Discoverer and Saturn, which were supposedly owned by PSOSL and fully equipped for operations.
9.45am - Najib Abdul Razak enters the dock as Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah enters the High Court for proceedings to resume.
Seen in the witness stand is former 1MDB CEO and ninth prosecution witness, Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi.
Also seen in court is lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and other members of the defence team, as well as lead DPP Gopal Sri Ram and other members of the prosecution team.
The lawyers and DPPs are seen seated together, two per each table in front.
9.31am - Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak enters the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
The accused takes a seat at the front row of the public gallery to await proceedings to begin.
The defence team today may continue to cross-examine ninth prosecution witness Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi over the fourth phase of the RM2.28 billion 1MDB abuse of power and money laundering case against Najib Abdul Razak.
These are among the lines of questioning that lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah may adopt against the former 1MDB CEO on the 38th day of the former prime minister’s trial over five counts of abuse of power and money laundering.
Near the end of proceedings yesterday, Shafee cross-examined Shahrol in relation to the fourth phase of the alleged 1MDB timeline beginning from 2012, namely the sovereign wealth fund’s purchase of 49 percent equity in PSOSL, a subsidiary of Petrosaudi International (PSI).
According to Shahrol’s 270-page witness statement, 1MDB entered into the equity deal with PSOSL following 1MDB terminating its Murabaha agreement with PSI in 2012.
The fourth phase of the 1MDB matter is stated in Page 249 of Shahrol’s witness statement.
During yesterday’s proceedings, Shahrol testified that he was made a scapegoat in relation to the multi-billion ringgit scandal involving 1MDB.
In the early part of the trial at the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday, judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah and Shafee had engaged in a heated exchange over whether to allow more lawyers into court to assist Shafee in the proceedings.
The judge made a sarcastic remark that the trial might as well be held in the Selayang market if more lawyers are allowed into the courtroom and disrupt social distancing as part of Covid-19 prevention.
Only three lawyers from each side are allowed in at any one time during the trial, in line with the standard operating procedure (SOP) set by the court.
Shafee had responded with his claim that he is unable to perform his job as lawyer properly with the restrictions and thus may need to quit acting for Najib in the trial if leeway is not allowed for more defence lawyers to be in court and assist him.
After proceedings adjourned around midday yesterday, Shafee and a member of the prosecution were set to meet Chief Judge of the High Court of Malaya Azahar Mohamed over whether restrictions on the number of lawyers and DPPs in court can be lessened to allow both parties to carry out their duties properly in the 1MDB trial.
During yesterday’s proceedings, Shahrol also testified that the 1MDB board did not check the background of one of the fund’s directors, Ong Gim Huat, because then prime minister Najib wanted Ong to be appointed and had exercised his (Najib) power under the fund’s articles of association to do so.
According to a report by online business news portal The Edge, Ong was not only a friend but also a business partner of Larry Low, the father of 1MDB-linked businessperson Jho Low.
The trial before Sequerah resumes around 9.30am today.
[More to follow] - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.