Najib allowed to explain himself on 1MDB allegations, says MACC officer

 

1MDB TRIAL | An MACC investigating officer testified that former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was given an opportunity to explain himself to rebut allegations of wrongdoing at troubled Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.

Nur Aida Arifin was giving oral evidence before the Kuala Lumpur High Court during today’s RM2.27 billion 1MDB abuse of power and money laundering trial against the former finance minister.

Defence counsel Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin cross-examined the 49th prosecution witness over what took place during the MACC interrogation of Najib in 2018.

The lawyer was contending that anti-graft watchdog officers merely showed the former premier two documents without revealing the specific allegations and charges.

The two documents are Finance Ministry documents allegedly containing Najib’s signatures for 1MDB’s acquisition of independent power producer (IPP) Mastika Lagenda Sdn Bhd in 2012.

Prosecutors contended that Najib’s alleged proxy Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) caused 1MDB to acquire Mastika Lagenda alongside IPP Tanjong Energy Holdings Sdn Bhd, which purportedly resulted in the accused obtaining a sum of RM90,899,927.28 as gratification.

“We asked questions and recorded (Najib’s) statement in a narrative style. The witness or accused is given the opportunity to explain in detail,” Nur Aida told trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.

The trial resumes tomorrow on Saturday, marking the first time that the 1MDB trial is held on a weekend since it first began on Aug 28, 2019.

The charges

Najib is on trial for four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.27 billion from 1MDB.

For the four abuse of power charges, the former Pekan MP allegedly 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, Najib purportedly committed the offences at the same bank between March 22, 2013, and Aug 30, 2013.

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

Najib was chairperson of 1MDB’s board of advisers. - Mkini