This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 30, 2019 - September 5, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Six months after Datuk Seri Najib Razak was appointed prime minister in 2009, a new article was added to Terengganu Investment Authority Bhd’s (TIA) articles of association to grant him significant control over the company, which eventually became 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

Article 117 of the articles of association for TIA, which states that any financial commitments, restructuring or anything to do with the government guarantee — for the interest of the company, country or government policy — must require the prime minister’s written approval, was inserted on Sept 2, 2009.

Two days later, Najib moved to change TIA’s name to 1MDB, Companies Commission of Malaysia’s (CCM) registrar of companies Rafidah Yahaya testified.

Rafidah, who is the seventh prosecution witness in the 1MDB-Tanore trial, said Najib signed a letter in his capacity as finance minister saying that TIA’s sole shareholder, the Minister of Finance Inc, has passed a resolution for TIA’s name to be changed to 1MDB.

The name was subsequently changed on Sept 25, 2009.

Najib was minister of finance from Sept 23, 2008. He was appointed prime minister on March 26, 2009.

In the opening statement of the trial, which commenced on Wednesday, appointed public prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram raised that Najib made himself “plenipotentiary” over the state-owned fund.

“The accused was instrumental in changing its name to 1MDB. He also caused amendments to be made to the articles of the company to place himself in sole control of important matters concerning the business and affairs of the company,” said the opening statement.

TIA was a sovereign wealth fund established in March 2009, and was made into a federal entity a few months later, which paved the way for its transformation into 1MDB.

Najib aide appointed to Tanjong Energy board

Shortly after 1MDB announced that it was acquiring Tanjong Energy Holdings Sdn Bhd for RM8.5 billion from billionaire T Ananda Krishnan in March 2012, Najib’s then-special officer Datuk Wan Ahmad Shihab Wan Ismail was appointed onto the board of the company on May 22, 2012.

Notably, Wan Ahmad Shihab was among four trustees for Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia, alongside Najib, the late Datuk Azlin Alias, and former 1MDB chairman Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin.

Azlin passed away in a helicopter crash in April 2015, which also killed PR1MA Corp chairman Tan Sri Jamaluddin Jarjis and four others.

Documents from the CCM showed that apart from Wan Ahmad, then-1MDB managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi was also appointed to Tanjong Energy’s board on the same day, together with then 1MDB deputy chief financial officer Terence Geh Choh Heng.

At that time, Tanjong Energy owned and operated eight power plants and had investments in five others in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, with a total net generating capacity of 3,951 megawatts.

The acquisition of Tanjong Energy led 1MDB to raise US$1.75 billion through issuance of 10-year structured loan notes, arranged by Goldman Sachs.

Of the total proceeds raised, at least US$428 million had flowed into a company called Blackstone Asia, which was controlled by Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, through his associate Tan Kim Loong, also known as Eric Tan.

Goldman Sachs was paid US$192.5 million as arranger’s fee for this bond issuance.

Rafidah was called to testify and verify more than 170 documents, but was only managed to complete up to 153 yesterday, with deputy public prosecutor Mustapha Kunyalam telling the court that there were 27 more documents left to be verified before proceedings were adjourned.