1MDB TRIAL | A police money laundering investigator today claimed that former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was uncooperative during interrogation.
Foo Wei Min testified that Najib’s only reply when grilled over five transactions allegedly linked to the RM2.27 billion 1MDB abuse of power and money laundering case was: “I will answer in court”.
These five cheques involved transactions in 2013, namely: an RM20 million cheque cashed into Umno’s account on Aug 2; an RM100,000 cheque that went into Umno Batu Kawan’s account on Aug 7; RM246,000 that went into businessperson Lim Soon Peng’s account on Aug 7, RM2 million which flowed into company Orb Solutions Sdn Bhd on Aug 12; and RM303,000 cashed into firm Semarak Konsortium Satu Sdn Bhd on Aug 14.
However, the timing of Foo’s interrogation of Najib - which took place on Oct 3, 2018 - became an issue.
As Najib looked on from the dock during the 1MDB trial, Foo agreed with lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah that the interrogation took place after the accused was charged at the criminal court on Sept 20, the same year.
As trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah presided over the open-court proceedings, Shafee heatedly grilled Foo on why the interrogation took place after Najib was charged.
The lawyer said that the accused could have provided an explanation over the issue linked to five cheques that allegedly involved funds from illegal activity.
Foo, however, insisted that when he asked Najib while recording his statement on Oct 3, 2018, the former Pekan MP repeatedly said he would answer in court - as he was already charged - regarding allegations that RM2.08 billion of funds from 1MDB flowed into the accused’s bank accounts in 2013.
The RM2.08 billion is linked to Najib’s long-standing claim that he believed the funds (US$681 million in the exchange rate in 2013) were donations from Arab royalty, and that he returned US$620 million of these funds.
Proceedings before Sequerah would resume this afternoon.
Najib is on trial over four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.27 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
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