Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 7): The 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial involving Datuk Seri Najib Razak will begin today with the prosecution and defence submitting on the former's request that the former premier be issued a stern warning for his comments against former Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz, who will be a prosecution witness.

The submissions will be made by Deputy Public Prosecutors Ahmad Akram Gharib and Mohamed Mustafa P Kunyalam while Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah will submit on behalf of Najib.

Presiding High Court Judge Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah has fixed today to hear the submissions after former Federal Court Judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram had brought to the court's attention of Najib's Facebook postings against Zeti last week, demanding that she answer allegations made by blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin that her family had supposedly received payment from fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) that purportedly came from 1MDB funds.

Zeti had slammed the claims as false and malicious.

Despite this, Najib had urged Zeti to explain the matter further.

Shafee had told Justice Sequerah that his client should be allowed to defend himself, as there were allegations made against him by others in relation to this trial which led the defence to seek a gag order on reporting of the trial. The court had rejected this request.

Sri Ram then argued that Zeti was listed as the 26th prosecution witness in the trial and they do not want to see their witnesses being attacked before they take the stand.

After submissions are made, former 1MDB chief executive officer (CEO) Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman will then continue to be cross-examined.

Yesterday, Hazem maintained that Najib was still the ultimate boss in 1MDB matters, when Shafee questioned why he had not brought to the premier's attention the questionable happenings in the company.

Hazem had earlier testified that during his interview for the position of the fund's chief operating officer at the Shangri La hotel, Jho Low had told him that 1MDB was set up to benefit Umno, which Shafee had challenged as hearsay.

The witness said this was not disputed by Najib's then senior private secretary, the late Datuk Seri Azlin Alias, who was also present during his interview.

He admitted that he thought 1MDB's jobs would be passed on to companies owned by Umno or subcontracted to them. However, he agreed in hindsight with Shafee that he had not seen funds transferred directly to Umno.

He was also shown by the defence that as soon as 1MDB Energy (Langat) Ltd (1MDBLL) received the US$1.64 billion from its fund raising exercise on Oct 19, 2012, four tranches of payment including a sum of US$790 million was made to Aabar Investments PJS Ltd (Aabar BVI) the same day.

Shafee suggested that then 1MDB CEO Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, along with chief financial officer Azmi Tahir and his deputy Terence Geh, as well as Mohamed Badawy Al-Husseiny and Khadem Al-Qubaisi, who were both directors at Aabar BVI — the “fake Aabar” — as well as the “real” Aabar Investments PJS, had conspired to embezzle the money.

Hazem said he could not comment on that but admitted that he knew later that US$790 million had made its way to Al-Husseiny and Al-Qubaisi from media reports. Al-Husseiny was also the then chairman of Falcon Private Bank, where 1MDBLL accounts were.

The Edge is covering the trial live here.

Users of The Edge Markets app may tap here to access the live report.

Edited ByLam Jian Wyn
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