Ex-1MDB CFO doesn’t know why he was not charged, court hears

 

1MDB TRIAL | Former 1MDB chief financial officer (CFO) Azmi Tahir does not know why he was not charged in relation to the financial scandal.

The 12th prosecution witness testified this during today’s RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption trial against former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Azmi was replying during cross-examination by defence counsel Hariharan Tara Singh in regards to the charging in absentia (back in Dec 2018) of wanted fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho or Jho Low (above), and several of his alleged associates, which included 1MDB’s former deputy CFO Terence Geh.

On that date, then inspector-general of police (IGP) Mohamad Fuzi Harun announced that the charges were brought against Jho Low and four of his associates.

The charges were mainly over transactions involving Good Star Ltd and 1MDB's predecessor the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA).

The details of these charges were not made available to the press then, with Fuzi saying that Jho Low was hit with five money laundering counts of transferring US$1.03 billion into Good Star's accounts between Sept 30, 2009, and Oct 25, 2011.

It was alleged that billions of ringgit of 1MDB’s funds were siphoned to Good Star, a company allegedly linked to Jho Low.

Besides Jho Low and Geh, the others then charged in absentia were Eric Tan Kim Loong, Casey Tang Keng Chee, and 1MDB’s former general counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan, in relation to alleged offences committed between 2009 and 2014.

Not charged

Azmi, who was 1MDB CFO between 2012 and 2017, was not among the names of those then charged.

During today’s open-court proceedings before the Kuala Lumpur High Court, Hariharan was asking Azmi why the witness was not among those charged, even though the then 1MDB deputy CFO (Geh) was charged in absentia.

Hariharan asked the question in the context of Azmi’s previous testimony, whereby he and others in 1MDB had abided by Jho Low’s instructions regarding transfers of monies due to the perception that the businessperson conveyed the directives of Najib.

Hariharan then referred to an affidavit of an investigating officer into the 1MDB affair, whereby the court document claimed that several staff members of the sovereign wealth fund were involved in the wrongful transfer of billions of ringgit out of the Malaysian government-owned entity.

Hariharan: You agree that no criminal charges were levelled against you?

Azmi: As far as I know.

Hariharan: Despite you being the co-signatory and director of a subsidiary (of 1MDB), you were in charge of raising funds, and yet no charges were made against you?

Azmi: I do not know why there were no criminal charges (against me).

Hariharan: And yet there was a criminal charge against your deputy (Geh).

Najib’s defence team had previously contended that several former board members and management of 1MDB, such as former director Ismee Ismail, were not charged in return for them to testify against the former premier.

The trial before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues today and is expected to resume tomorrow as well.

Najib is on trial for four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion of 1MDB’s funds.

1MDB is fully owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc).

Besides being the former premier, the accused also used to be finance minister and chairperson of 1MDB’s board of advisers.

The prosecution contended that Low, on the behest of Najib, had acted with several other 1MDB personnel to misappropriate billions of ringgit of funds from the sovereign wealth fund and, via a circuitous and complex financial route, to transfer part of the funds to the then premier’s account.

However, the defence team contended that Najib had no knowledge about wrongdoing at 1MDB and that the whole affair was masterminded completely by Low and several other members of the sovereign wealth fund. - Mkini