Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on September 20, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin told the High Court that he received “berpuluh ribu” (tens of thousands) in cash from former prime minister (PM) Datuk Seri Najib Razak after he embarked on “secret missions” to Abu Dhabi and China over 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) matters in 2016.

He revealed during re-examination by senior deputy public prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram in the 1MDB-Tanore trial that he was paid the amount at Najib’s home — although he did not say if it was his private residence in Jalan Langgak Duta here or his official home in Seri Perdana, Putrajaya.

Amhari, the former prime minister’s special officer, said he did not make any claims for the trips from the Prime Minister’s Department as they were considered “secret missions”.

The eighth prosecution witness had gone to Abu Dhabi to meet Mubadala Investment Co chief executive officer (CEO) Khaldoon Al Mubarak to facilitate a settlement agreement for its bond dispute.

1MDB was unable to meet its obligations to bonds worth US$3.5 billion, forcing Mubadala’s subsidiary International Petroleum Investment Company — which guaranteed the bonds — to pay US$1.2 billion.

“I did not inform our embassy officials in Abu Dhabi when I arrived. I went straight to meet Khaldoon at the Mubadala office.”

Meanwhile, Amhari went to China in June that year to meet the republic’s state officials to negotiate their investments in major infrastructure projects including the East Coast Rail Link and the Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline, which the witness had claimed was to bail out 1MDB and its subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd from their debts.

The witness said Najib had summoned his aide to his home to tell him about the trips. “The meeting at the house lasted for 15 to 20 minutes,” the witness said.

The 43-year-old witness had earlier told the court that before the trips, he would receive pointers on what to say via email from Low Taek Low (Jho Low). Jho Low also accompanied him and participated in his meetings in China.

Amhari said while he had reservations about his orders to attend the meetings, his loyalty to Najib won out.

Sri Ram: Who paid for the trips to those countries?

Amhari: The PM paid or reimbursed me for them.

Sri Ram: How was [the reimbursement] paid to you?

Amhari: It was paid to me in cash at his house.

Sri Ram: Normally for the trips, you would submit claims?

Amhari: Yes, normally I would submit claims to JPM (Prime Minister’s Department). However, for these [trips] I did not submit any claims as [they were] secret missions which I had to go on.

Sri Ram: Is this normal?

Amhari: No.

Sri Ram: How much were you paid?

Amhari: Berpuluh ribu (tens of thousands).

Amhari added that he handed the notes or reports prepared by Jho Low from the meetings in China to his boss.

“He (Najib) asked me whether everything was real over there. Najib wanted to verify whether Jho Low could secure projects from China. I said ‘correct’ as there had been meetings,” he explained.

While the prosecution may have completed their re-examination of Amhari yesterday, his presence is still required on Monday — when the trial resumes before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah — to answer any further questions.

The next witness after Amhari would be Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi who was the Terengganu Investment Authority  CEO and the first 1MDB CEO.

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