The Malaysian Insight

FUGITIVE financier Low Taek Jho, who prosecutors said conspired with former prime minister Najib Razak to defraud 1MDB of billions of ringgit, had never signed a document related to the state investment fund, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur heard today.

Former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi revealed at Najib’s 1MDB trial that he did not recognise Low’s signature because he had never seen it.

Shahrol was today shown documents that allegedly bore the Penang-born businessman’s signature when cross-examined by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.

Shahrol: I can’t recognise his signature.

Shafee: Isn’t that a miracle? How many years have you known him? Yet you’ve never seen a document where his signature is stated. Isn’t that a signal to you of a coming disaster?

Shahrol: No.

Shafee: It doesn’t alarm you? Even now, in hindsight? Not that you don’t recognise his signature, but you don’t recognise it because you have never seen a document that he’s signed.

Shahrol: It doesn’t alarm me.

Shafee: Why not?

Shahrol: Because he doesn’t have any official dealings with 1MDB.

Najib, 66, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB and 21 charges of laundering the same amount.

Prosecutors have accused him of conspiring with Penang-born Low to defraud the sovereign wealth fund.

Shahrol testified previously that he met Low in 2007, while working as managing director at consulting firm Accenture. Low, a client, was then managing director at Utama Banking Group.

It was Low who brought the witness to the Terengganu royal residence in Kuala Lumpur on March 21, 2009, to meet then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, where Shahrol was recommended for the chief executive post of 1MDB’s precursor, the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA).

Earlier today, Shahrol also revealed that Low was never paid for his services at TIA.

He also confirmed that it was Low who brought in then 1MDB general counsel Jasmine Loo, 1MDB director Terence Geh and 1MDB executive director of business development Casey Tang.

The witness agreed with Shafee’s suggestion that the trio were “placed around” him to control 1MDB. They, like Low, are currently fugitives wanted for fraud.

After Shahrol was appointed as TIA CEO on March 23, 2009, the witness confirmed that Low and Tang were already in discussions with bankers on the coming RM5 billion, 30-year government-guaranteed Islamic Medium Term Notes (IMTN) bonds issuance by TIA.

Minister of Finance Inc, led by Najib, took over TIA on 31 July, 2009, and changed its name to 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

Najib is represented by a dozen lawyers, led by Shafee.

Former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram leads the prosecution before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.

The trial continues. – October 8, 2019.