The Malaysian Insight

THE Najib Razak trial over SRC International Sdn Bhd funds enters the third day of the defence stage today, with the accused  continuing to read out his sworn testimony from the witness stand.

The former prime minister is addressing, via a 243-page witness statement, allegations that he misappropriated RM42 million in public funds.

The 66-year-old is the first defence witness.

On Wednesday, Najib testified that in 2013 he received a donation of US$800 million (about RM2.4 billion then) from Saudi Arabia’s late King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Najib also testified that fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, commonly known as Jho Low, arranged meetings with King Abdullah during several official trips to Riyadh and Jeddah in 2010.

Najib said King Abdullah, who passed away in 2015, was impressed with Malaysia’s brand of moderate Islamic and believed that the donation was channelled through the Tanore Finance Corp, which he was told was linked to the Saudi king.

On his relationship with Low, Najib said he got to know the Penang-born businessman in 2007 through his stepson Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz.

Najib described Low as having influence and good connections with Saudi and United Arab Emirates royalty and developers, and was able to facilitate meetings and discussions with them.

Najib’s charges in the SRC International trial are linked to RM4 billion in loans issued to the entity in 2011 and 2012, for which he is accused of receiving RM42 million in his accounts in 2014 and 2015.

Hearing of the defence stage is scheduled till December 19. The defence has yet to say how many witnesses it will call.

Najib’s legal team is led by Muhammad Shafee Abdullah. Attorney-General Tommy Thomas leads the prosecution, while Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali presides.

The Malaysian Insight brings you today’s proceedings live:

4.22pm: Court adjourns for the day. The trial continues tomorrow at 9am.

4.20pm: The prosecution and defence argue about having the expert verify documents in the case. Sithambaram says it will seriously prejudice the prosecution.

Nazlan tells the defence to submit a formal application for the request to be considered.

4.15pm: Ad hoc prosecutor V. Sithambaram says the defence will need to put in a formal request.

Shafee and defence lawyer Harvinderjit Singh tell Nazlan that the process of submitting an official request is time-consuming, and they want to get it done as soon as possible so as to not disturb the trial dates next month.

If approval is given, the expert could produce his report “probably in January”, allowing the trial to proceed as planned, says Shafee.

4.06pm: Shafee tells the court that the defence had written a letter requesting Nazlan’s permission for a document expert to verify certain exhibits submitted by both the defence and prosecution.

If the judge agrees to this, he says, the expert, from Australia, will fly in on Wednesday.

3.55pm: Wan Aizuddin: What is SRC International’s plan (with regard to) fulfilling its obligations to KWAP?

Najib: In my understanding, SRC International is still in discussions with Swiss authorities. It will also liquidate its assets to enable it to pay off debts to both KWAP and MoF. (SRC International) have given their commitment to do this.

Najib finishes reading his 243-page statement and signs it.

3.44pm: In the report submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Najib points out the following:

a) There is no evidence to show that he abused his position during the cabinet meeting that approved the government guarantee for a RM4 billion loan to SRC International from KWAP;

b) The evidence shows that the loan approval process by KWAP and the loan guarantee approval by the cabinet were properly done;

c) There is no evidence to show that Najib solicited or was promised any gratification from any party either before, during or after the cabinet decision was made;

d) The evidence as a whole does not disclose any conflict of interest on the part of Najib; and,

e) MACC itself admitted that based on its investigation, there is no evidence from the witnesses that could show that Najib committed any act of corruption.

3.40pm: Najib says in 2016, the then attorney-general issued a statement that the probe was completed, and that “there was no evidence of wrongdoing against me”. He says he is “holding on to it” to this day.

3.34pm: Najib is asked why he did not lodge a police report after finding out about the funds from Shamsul and Ung.

He says he did not lodge a report, issue a public statement or take action because he did not want to disrupt or attempt to disrupt the authorities while they were conducting investigations.

He says he gave a statement on the matter to MACC some time in December 2015.

3.26pm: Asked if he met Ung later, Najib says: Yes. This was after my meeting with Shamsul. I think it was a year later, but I can’t be sure. She told me she didn’t know the source of the funds. She told me Azlin had informed her that the funds would be transferred to IPSB, and he would transfer the money to accounts that did not have the names of any individual.

When she doesn’t know where the money is coming from and doesn’t know the account holder’s identity, she thinks it is for CSR purposes, he adds.

3.16pm: IPSB managing director Shamsul Anwar Sulaiman testified that in July 2015, he was arrested by MACC and remanded for several days. He also testified that after his release, he met Najib.

Najib is asked to explain what was discussed at the meeting.

He says he met Shamsul in late July 2015, and told the latter he was surprised by news reports that SRC International funds had been transferred into his account through IPSB, and that he did not have any knowledge of it at the time.

He says Shamsul informed him that all of the transactions reported were true, and MACC had shown him the documents to prove it.

Najib says he was very frustrated to learn about this.

3.04pm: On August 9, 2014, Low sent Yu the following message: “From M – Great holiday here. All went well. Need u to speak to Cheah to clear Ambank Visa for €1.2M for u know what purchase. Can u do it.”

On August 11 the same year, Yu said there was a transaction in euro on Najib’s credit card, and the amount was deducted.

Wan Aizuddin asks if Najib sent the message to Low.

Najib: No, I didn’t. As stated above, on August 8, 2014, I was charged €763,500 on the card at De Grisogono in Italy. I do not recall any transactions that were deducted that day. There were no further transaction after August 8, 2014. I believe the credit card statement will prove this.

On August 13, 2014, Low sent Yu the following message: “Please ensure it works in full today. He is planning to sign euro in Italy today. Now 7am here.”

Najib, asked if he used his credit card on August 13, 2014, denies doing so.

2.53pm: Wan Aizuddin: Ung Su Ling explained that she was directed by Azlin for IPSB to (transfer money) into your account in December 2014 and February 2015. What do you say to this?

Najib: I believe Ung Su Ling didn’t tell the truth. Ung Su Ling is Jho Low’s ally, and carried out his instructions. Ung Su Ling has nothing to support her claims that Azlin was certainly involved in this transaction.

Najib adds that he never spoke to Low about matters related to his bank account, cheques and credit card expenses.

2.48pm: Asked if he trusted Azlin, Najib says Azlin is a person with honour and integrity in all matters. He says Azlin was tricked by Low and Nik Faisal.

2.45pm: Wan Aizuddin asks Najib: Quite clearly, the BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) conversation transcript shows Jho Low was actually the one who directed Joanna Yu on matters related to your account. Did you allow Jho Low to do so?

Najib replies: No. Why would I? I already agree with Nik Faisal to act as the individual authorised at the suggestion of Azlin. I am surprised that the bank chose to deal with Jho Low instead. I do not have any knowledge of communications between Jho Low and the bank at that time.

2.39pm: Court resumes after lunch. Najib takes the stand and continues reading his statement.

1.12pm: Court adjourns for lunch.

1.11pm: Wan Aizuddin: How do you know no more funds are expected?

Najib: King Abdullah passed away on January 23, 2015 and arrangements regarding donations had been made personally with King Abdullah. I thought it would be the end of it.

1.10pm: Najib says in March 2015, he was informed by Azlin ​​that contributions and funds in the new account were almost exhausted. In view that no more donations were expected, Najib decided to close accounts ending with 880, 898 and 906.

1.06pm: Wan Aizuddin: What about the claim that the expenditure exceeding RM95 million to Barisan Nasional and Umno personally benefiting you as it ensured the survival of your political career for the support of BN and Umno politicians?

Najib: It is the duty of every Umno president and BN chairman to raise funds for the party’s needs. On the whole, each distribution is based on their needs. In other words, they would come to me saying they needed money for political programmes and activities.

1pm: Najib says funds used from cheques issued from accounts 906 and 898 from August 2013 to March 2015 were for:

- Cheque to political party = RM95,090,000

- Cheque for political and social CSR use = RM81,763,260

- Cheques for charities/NGOs = RM29,629,694

- Cheque for repair and upgrade Langgak Duta and Sri Kayangan = RM233,800

- Auto debit credit card transactions = RM748,583.62  

- Credit card spending for gift to a foreign leader (De Grisogono) = RM3,282,734.16

Najib: I humbly declare I did not use this fund for personal interests or personal wealth.

12.52pm: Two significant transactions that were highlighted during this trial.

- US$130,625 (RM466,330.11) charged by Chanel in Honolulu on December 22, 2014

- RM127,017.46 charged by Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok in January 2015.

Najib says the Chanel charges were because he bought a gift for his wife’s birthday, which was in December.

He says the Shangri-La charges was his continuation of a personal vacation.

Right after his visit to Kota Baru, he went to Bangkok, Thailand to continue his vacation.

He says although the trip was a private vacation, he also took the opportunity to meet Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-Cha to discuss how the Thai government can help with the severe floods Malaysia was facing.

The payment of RM120,000 at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok included his stay as well for his support staff who accompanied him.

12.38pm: Najib says he never wanted to use public funds to purchase the gift.

12.35pm: Wan Aizuddin: The credit card statement shows that RM3,282,734.16 (EUR763,500.00) was charged at a famous Italian jewellery shop De Grisogono in Sardinia, Italy on August 8, 2014. Can you explain the purpose of this purchase?

Najib: I was in Sardinia, Italy for a private vacation with my family. There I met Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, a Qatari businessman, politician and a royal family member of Al Thani.

Sheikh Ahmad was then prime minister of Qatar. It is something of a coincidence and we plan to meet up at Sardinia.

De Grisigono is a manufacturer of luxury jewellery and watches in Italy. The purchase I made there in August 2014 is related to jewellery that has been purchased as a gift to Sheikh Ahmad’s wife.

12.25pm: Najib says he has never abused his position as a civil servant in respect of the provisions of two government guarantees.

He says his action in relation to the two government guarantee, KWAP loans to SRC international and other matters have been done in the interest of the Malaysian government and the Ministry of Finance.

12.20pm: Wan Aizuddin: The first and second breach of trust charges against you were transactions involving SRC International funds that are part of a series of actions in which you are said to have misused the funds. What do you have to say about this?

Najib: Taking into account the above, I humbly state that I have no knowledge or involvement in the transactions where SRC International funds were channelled into my account and then into PBSB and PPC.

I humbly request that the high court sees the evidence in details, including my statement here that shows I’m not guilty.

Other than that, there is no documentary evidence or anything, as well as the testimony of the witnesses which indicate the transfer from SRC International was done at my order.

12.07pm: Court hears a referral letter was sent to Joanna Yu on December 24, 2014 to ask her to proceed with a transaction, which was done on December 29, 2014. 

Najib denies sending any referral as he said he was in Honolulu at the time on a personal visit with his family. He says he had a golfing session with then US president Barack Obama, which was widely reported.

He says he made arrangements to return home when he was informed about the floods on the east coast.

“Therefore I never saw or signed any document that is said to be given on December 24, 2014.”

11.43am: Regarding the fund transfer from SRC to Najib’s account in December 2014, Najib says he had no knowledge or involvement in any of the transactions. 

Najib: I don’t have any knowledge regarding the transfer of funds from SRC to IPSB and subsequently into my account in IPSB. I only got to know the details of these transactions around July 2015 when it was sensationally published by Sarawak Report.

11.31am: Najib says he is not aware of these transactions in detail. He reiterates that Azlin had informed him about that the donations were from King Abdullah. 

Najib says he was shown a letter on June 1,2014 as proof.

11.03am: Najib is shown a printout of transfers from Vista Equity International Partners Ltd, Seychelles and Blackrock Commodities Pty Ltd, Singapore, amounting to RM49 million, into account 880 in 2014. The descriptions indicate the transactions had been made on Low’s orders.

10.50am: Najib says he was not informed by anyone, including the bank and BNM, about the Amla red flag or warning.

10.48am: Wan Aizuddin: As part of an effort to consolidate these accounts, evidence shows that Jho Low caused more than RM12 million in cash to be transferred to new accounts in stages and with the help of Joanna Yu. This was ongoing although Joanna Yu had warned Jho Low due to the account being overdrawn and the large cash deposits, the bank had issued a warning (red flag) under Amla. Is Datuk Seri aware of this?

Najib: No. Not at all. I would not have let this happen. I was then the prime minister and also a well known politician. If news were to break that the bank accounts registered in my name had been alerted to BNM due to the RM12 million cash inflow, it would have been used by the opposition to ruin my reputation. That would indirectly be a charge of corruption as it involved huge amounts of cash. I wouldn’t let my personal account run the risk of being warned for Amla by BNM.

10.39am: Defence lawyer tells Najib the court has heard and seen the evidence showing the new account was constantly overdrawn, and that each time Yu reported that to Low, he would immediately provide the funds to keep the account open. 

Wan Aizuddin: Jho Low also took various steps to ensure that the bank did not decline any cheques. Jho Low seems to have caused Nik Faisal to sign several letters to the bank in the process to get some time to let him put in the funds. Is Datuk Seri aware of this?

Najib: Not at all. I only found out about this when the evidence was presented to the court. I was surprised. 

I never gave permission to Datuk Azlin, Nik Faisal or Jho Low to take such action. I was also never told about my accounts being in an overdrawn state.

10.27am: Najib says he never saw the statements for all three accounts back then. He said Azlin held them. 

Najib says he only found out recently (during the trial) that Low had taken steps to ensure that the bank statements were not given to him and were in Joanna Yu’s keeping.

10.24am: Wan Aizuddin: On August 27, 2013, Jho Low informed Joanna that you had begun writing cheques from your new account. There is a cheque number 00151 dated August 24, 2013 for RM5 Million to Yayasan Permata Malaysia issued from account 898, and check number 0052 dated August 26, 2013 for RM268k to Jakel Trading.  How did Jho Low come to know you had started writing cheques from your new accounts?

Najib: I’m not sure. I didn’t contact Jho Low regarding the cheques I was issued from my new accounts. The only one I informed was Datuk Azlin Alias, who probably told Nik Faisal. 

I can only assume that Jho Low was in contact with one of them. 

In any case, I had not allowed them to release my banking details to Jho Low.

10.09am: Najib says he was given at least 10 cheque books by Azlin for the new accounts.

Wan Aizuddin: There were three new accounts opened but you received cheque books for only two accounts. Why? 

Najib: When I was given the cheque books by Datuk Azlin, he informed me it was for a new account that I had opened. At that time, I didn’t realise that cheque books were not given for one account. Once again, I emphasise that I had given it to Datuk Azlin, whom I trusted, to manage my accounts.

10.07am: Najib is asked about the source of funds for YR1M, to which he says he does not know as it is managed by a board of trustees.

10.05am: Defence lawyer asks Najib about his statement that the new account was opened as he was anticipating further contributions for CSR. 

Wan Aizuddin: What was Datuk Seri’s understanding regarding the source of funds transferred into the new account? 

Najib: When the new account was opened, I held on to the belief that funds in the new account came from donations as in Account 694. Based on this, I continued to use the funds especially for political, social and welfare purposes.

Datuk Azlin also informed me of the contribution towards CSR efforts I could make through the Yayasan Rakyat 1 Malaysian (YR1M). Datuk Azlin Alias ​​is one of the trustees of YR1M.

Around 2014, Datuk Azlin informed me that a further donation was received from King Abdullah.

9.55am: Najib says he was aware that the balance in his old account 694 was transferred to his new account. 

He says this was done after Tanore’s funds were returned.

9.46am: Najib says he was informed by Azlin that authorisation was given to Nik Faisal to handle his banking accounts. He says he signed several authorisation forms to the effect. The forms were given to him by Azlin.

9.39am: Wan Aizuddin tells Najib that Joanna Yu has testified that she had informed Low about the purpose of the three new accounts.

Wan Aizuddin: Did you communicate with Jho Low in regard to the opening of these three accounts?

Najib: Not at all. Again, I was surprised at why the bank was dealing with Jho Low when he was never authorised to handle my banking accounts.

Wan Aizuddin: Do you know that Joanna Yu, Daniel Lee and Krystal Yap were re-appointed as the relationship managers for accounts 880, 906 and 898?

Najib: No. I’ve never dealt with these individuals and was never told that they had a role in managing my accounts.

9.36am: Najib agrees he signed the bank forms to open the accounts. He says Azlin gave him the forms.

The three accounts end in the numbers 880, 906 and 898.

Najib says he signed the forms sometime in July 2013.

9.35am: Wan Aizuddin asks Najib why three new accounts were opened instead of one.

Najib: I was informed that there were several parties expected to contribute to me personally after realising the contributions I had made to politics, social and CSR programmes for welfare purposes from 2011 to 2013. So Datuk Azlin advised me to open a new account in order to manage to funds better.

9.31am: Defence lawyer Wan Aizuddin asks Najib why was the account ending in the numbers “694” closed.

Najib: Because I wanted to return a huge amount that wasn’t used back to the donor. I discussed with Datuk Azlin and we decided to close account 694.

9.26am: Court is in session. Najib takes the stand. – December 9, 2019.