Najib received US$30m 1MDB funds in 2012 - Bank Negara analyst

1MDB TRIAL | Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak received US$30 million (RM90,899,927.28 as of the exchange rate minus banking transfer fee back then) of 1MDB funds 11 years ago, a Bank Negara analyst testified.

Adam Ariff Mohd Roslan told the Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning that an examination of bank statements showed that the former finance minister’s 694 AmPrivate Banking-MR account at AmBank received the monies from Blackstone Asia Real Estate Partners in late 2012.

Blackstone is a company allegedly controlled by fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) through his associate Tan Kim Loong, also known as Eric Tan (prosecutors previously contended that Low is Najib's 'alter ego and mirror image').

During today’s RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption trial against Najib, 47th prosecution witness Adam testified that Blackstone’s Chartered bank records showed that the entity transferred 1MDB funds to Najib in two tranches - US$5 million on Oct 30, 2012, and US$25 million on Nov 19, 2012.

Second phase

Adam’s testimony was over what purportedly transpired during the second phase out of four phases of the RM2.28 billion graft case involving Najib's accounts. All the phases allegedly took place between 2011 and 2014.

The second phase deals with 1MDB raising funds for the acquisition of assets of purported dubious value, such as the acquisition of two independent power producers, Tanjong Energy Holdings Sdn Bhd and Mastika Lagenda Sdn Bhd.

According to the prosecution’s opening statement at the beginning of the trial, it was contended that hundreds of billions of ringgit of loans raised by 1MDB had gone to British Virgin Islands-incorporated Aabar Investments PJS Limited, purportedly as a security deposit for Aabar’s holding company International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) to issue a guarantee for 1MDB’s notes that raised the funding.

Prosecutors claimed that over several transactions in 2012, billions of ringgit were transferred between Aabar, Cistenique Investment Fund (CIF), and Enterprise Emerging Markets Fund (EEMF), as part of the alleged money laundering scheme to obscure the source of the funds.

The prosecution contended that later on Nov 5, 2012, Aabar paid a further sum of US$96 million to EEMF, and that soon after, CIF and EEMF paid further funds to Blackstone, and that these monies were then channelled by Blackstone into Najib’s account.

Prosecutors contended that on Oct 30, 2012, a sum of US$5 million was paid into the accused’s account, and then, on Nov 19, a sum of US$25 million was paid into the accused’s account.

“Evidence will be led to show how financial layering took place to provide a false justification for the movement of the monies,” the late deputy public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram had contended in the prosecution’s opening statement back in 2019.

The trial before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues.

Najib’s charges

Najib is on trial over four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion from 1MDB, a sovereign wealth fund fully owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc).

For the four abuse of power charges, the former Pekan MP is alleged to have committed the offences at AmIslamic Bank Bhd’s Jalan Raja Chulan branch in Bukit Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur, between Feb 24, 2011, and Dec 19, 2014.

On the 21 money laundering counts, the accused is purported to have committed the offences at the same bank between March 22, 2013, and Aug 30, 2013. - Mkini