KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 17): Former 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) chief executive officer (CEO) Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman told the High Court here today that fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low was present at 1MDB-related meetings that involved former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, although there was no reason for him to be there.
Testifying at the 1MDB-Tanore trial this afternoon as the 10th prosecution witness, the former CEO was asked by Najib’s lawyer Tan Seri Muhammad Shafee bin Abdullah about Jho Low.
Shafee had been questioning Hazem about the former CEO’s assertion that Najib and Jho Low were acting as one, and that instructions from Jho Low were as good as instructions from Najib.
Shafee: So, when you say that Jho Low was the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister was Jho Low, you were presuming?
Hazem: From information I gathered, that was the case.
Shafee: You were presuming without evidence.
Hazem: Well not necessarily, there were meetings where Najib (was present) and Jho Low was there. There was no need for him to be there.
Hazem was referring to an unofficial meeting on Nov 11, 2013 at Najib’s Langgak Duta residence, which was attended by 1MDB’s former director Tan Sri Che Lodin Wok Kamaruddin and former chief financial officer (CFO) Azmi Tahir, as well as BSI Singapore’s representative Yak Yew Chew, Najib’s then private secretary the late Datuk Azlin Alias and Jho Low, to discuss 1MDB’s upcoming financial audit.
Shafee then suggested that Hazem was part of Jho Low's conspiracy, putting it to the witness that he allowed Jho Low and the co-conspirators to mislead Najib, as well as allowed matters that had not been approved by the Ministry of Finance Inc (MoF Inc).
"I put it to you that you were part of the entire scam to cheat 1MDB, and when the authorities discovered that you were part of the scam, you were pushed to cooperate and give adverse evidence against Datuk Seri Najib," said Shafee.
"I disagree," Hazem replied.
Hazem then agreed with Shafee’s suggestion that he did not feel like he was CEO of the company because Jho Low was running the company.
Shafee: The way you describe Jho Low controlling the senior management, it’s like you were not the CEO. You felt like you were not the CEO. Jho Low was running the company through management?
Hazem: Yes.
The former CEO then said he did not take any steps to resolve glaring issues at the troubled state investment arm.
Meanwhile, Shafee suggested that despite Hazem’s misgivings about the company and Jho Low’s role, it did not stop him from pocketing over RM2 million in annual bonus payments.
Shafee told the court that the remuneration committee of 1MDB found that Hazem's performance for the year (2014) exceeded expectations and it was them who suggested he get a bonus of RM2.75 million. Shafee then questioned Hazem as to why he accepted the bonus that was recommended to him, when he had doubts about what was going on in 1MDB.
"You said you were reduced to nothing, that you were led by the nose by Jho Low. But you were given a bonus in the face of the company going down the drain.
"Did you not feel ashamed about accepting this bonus?" asked the defence lawyer.
In response, Hazem turned to Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah and asked whether he was obliged to answer the question.
DPP Ahmad Akram Gharib then objected to Shafee’s questioning, saying it had nothing to do with the charges against Najib.
However, Hazem proceeded to answer the question and said the decision to give him the bonus was made by the board and that he had no control over it, as he was just doing his job.
Najib, 67, is facing four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
The Edge is covering the trial live here.
Users of The Edge Markets app may tap here to access the live report.