‘YOU BETTER READ D.O.J. REPORT’
Najib’s lawyer grills ex-1MDB CEO because ‘a lot of things were done under your watch’
THE 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial involving former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is set to drag on for several months as there is still a long list of witnesses yet to be called and lengthy cross-examination of those already on the stand.
Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said he wouldn’t be surprised if the trial were to continue until the end of next year considering the time it took to grill key witnesses directly involved in the day-to-day operations of the strategic development company.
As it is, former 1MDB chief executive officer Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, 50, who is just the ninth prosecution witness, has already been on the witness stand since late last year.
He is now being cross-examined by Shafee, who informed the court that it will probably take another three weeks for him to end his questioning.
Shahrol will then be subjected to re-examination by the prosecution team before the next witness is called.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib, when asked by judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah how many more witnesses the prosecution intended to call, said there were an- other 55 individuals lined up.
He said these included several from overseas, including bankers from Singapore, who had dealings with 1MDB.
During proceedings yesterday, Shahrol spent much of the day warding off accusations that he was in cahoots with fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho @ Jho Low in ripping off 1MDB to the tune of RM10 billion.
Shafee repeatedly tore into his answers, who previously admitted his last drawn salary as 1MDB CEO was in excess of RM100,000 per month, despite him having no knowledge of finance matters when he took the job.
Shahrol acknowledged that Jho Low, along with several others close to him who were working in the company, played a big role in keeping much of the shenanigans involving 1MDB from the board of directors’ knowledge.
He, however, insisted that his hands were clean and that he played no role in whatever was going on then.
Asked if this meant the entire 1MDB board had been hoodwinked by Jho Low, Shahrol responded by agreeing.
Shafee had earlier quizzed Shahrol over a series of transactions purportedly aimed at repatriating 1MDB’s foreign investments amounting to about US$2.38 billion.
Referring to a United States Department of Justice (DOJ) report, Shafee said it was stated that there were actually no plans to repatriate anything back, but those involved had actually embarked on a complex restructuring exercise.
Shahrol then admitted that in hindsight, the multiple restructuring of 1MDB’s investments abroad was a mechanism to hoodwink the 1MDB board into believing that the company’s investments were still secure.
Shafee: The board was hoodwinked because now we know that 1MDB’s investments were not worth the paper they were written on.
Shahrol: Correct.
Shafee: Now, one question I must ask you is that if the whole board can be hoodwinked: Can the prime minister and the finance minister also be hoodwinked?
Shahrol: I cannot comment on that because I don’t know if he had more information than the board.
Shahrol eventually answered most of Shafee’s questions on other 1MDB transactions and decisions by either denying knowledge or blaming those appointed in the company by Jho Low.
Shahrol also claimed he did not know what had been revealed by the DOJ on 1MDB as he had not read the report, to which Shafee responded: “I recommend that you read the report as your name is mentioned a lot in it. A lot of things were done in 1MDB under your watch.”
Najib, 68, is facing 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering over 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.
The trial continues.