KUALA LUMPUR (April 5): Former 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) general counsel Jasmine Loo testified that in 2017, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had declared in Parliament that she was no longer wanted by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) as the central bank was investigating 1MDB as a whole instead of just her.
Loo, 50, said this in reply to the prosecution’s re-examination on Friday during the 1MDB-Tanore trial, where Najib is facing abuse of power and money-laundering charges.
Deputy public prosecutor Deepa Nair Thevaharan had asked Loo about whether she had been investigated or called up by the authorities when Najib was prime minister prior to him losing power in 2018.
Loo explained that she had been called by BNM and the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) in 2015 and 2016 to get her statements recorded.
Deepa: Was there any action taken (after the statements were recorded)?
Loo: No.
Deepa: Why? What happened?
Loo: I believe Najib cleared me. I recall seeing an article about myself where he was posed a question in Parliament about me, and he replied and informed them that investigations were completed and that I was cleared.
Deepa then introduced the Parliament Hansard (minutes of Parliament proceedings) dated March 7, 2017, to the court, where Najib was recorded as having replied to a question posed by then Kelana Jaya Member of Parliament Wong Chen.
Wong had asked if the Finance Ministry was working with the Immigration Department to contact Loo, who was under BNM’s wanted list for investigations under the Exchange Control Act 1953.
Najib had also said in his reply that another 1MDB executive, Casey Tang, along with Loo, was also off the watch list.
“For your information, the investigation involving the two individuals has been completed, and based on its outcome, enforcement action was taken against the company according to existing laws with consent from the AGC (Attorney General's Chambers), whereby BNM issued a compound letter to the 1MDB administration for failing to fully adhere to the orders issued under the Exchange Control Act 1953,” he had said back then.
Najib had added that since 1MDB had paid the compound in full, there was no need for Tang and Loo to remain on the watch list “unless there is any new information regarding violation of laws governed under BNM”.
However, according to an article by the Malay Mail at the time, it stated that checks showed Tang and Loo had still remained on the BNM watch list.
Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah objected to this and clarified that while BNM had decided to take them off the list, the PDRM and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) were definitely investigating them at that material time.
Loo claimed she doesn't know former BNM governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz’s husband, but was confident that Zeti knew Jho Low because of how BNM gave the green light for 1MDB’s dubious transactions
Earlier during cross-examination, Shafee had asked Loo about fugitive Low Taek Jho's, or Jho Low’s, penchant for name-dropping, where Loo had confirmed that Jho Low name-dropped Zeti, saying that he would "take care" of Zeti.
Shafee: We already know he’s famous for name-dropping. You know he was close to Zeti. He has said: 'Don’t worry, I’ll take care of Zeti.' You know that this is true because many transactions from 1MDB went smoothly in BNM?
Loo: Yes.
Shafee: How do you know? Have you met Zeti?
Loo: No, but he told me about it.
Shafee: You know this is true because BNM gave consent for these dubious transactions? If BNM didn’t give consent, it wouldn’t have gone through?
Loo: Correct.
The defence lawyer then asked if Loo was aware that Zeti's husband, Datuk Dr Tawfiq Ayman, was a business associate of Jho Low — to which Loo said she did not know.
Board of advisers in 1MDB did exist as they received payments from 1MDB
Upon re-examination by Deepa, Loo was asked about Shafee’s claim that the 1MDB board of advisers chaired by Najib did not exist. However, Loo claimed that she had seen proof that the board had actually existed.
“I have seen documents where fees were paid to the board of advisers. So, definitely, they did exist, because payments went out to the board and it was approved by 1MDB,” she said.
Loo: Conspiring against Najib would be like digging my own grave
She was also asked if she and others in 1MDB had conspired against Najib to siphon funds from 1MDB.
“It is impossible to conspire against a sitting prime minister. It would be like digging my own grave,” she said.
Loo was then released from the witness stand after she was re-examined.
In this trial, Najib is facing four counts of abuse of power for using his position as then prime minister, finance minister, and chairman of 1MDB’s board of advisers to receive gratifications worth RM2.27 billion. He is also facing 21 money-laundering charges.
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