KUALA LUMPUR (May 2): Local authorities' investigations into 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) involved "thousands" of documents, and not all of them could be specifically shown to imprisoned former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak when his statement was recorded, the court heard on Thursday.
In what is emerging to be a theme during the cross-examination of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer (IO) Nur Aida Arifin in the ongoing 1MDB-Tanore trial, the IO said Najib was given all the opportunity to amend or add to his recorded statement.
She also said that facts from her investigations were corroborated with statements from other witnesses.
"At the time of the investigations, we received thousands of documents. There is a possibility that [this particular] document was overlooked or there was no time because there were so many [documents].
"If [Najib] wanted to add on [to his statement], he has no limitations placed on him. [At the close of recording his statement,] he was asked if [he] wanted to add or alter anything," said the prosecution's 49th witness.
She was responding to defence counsel Wan Azwan Aiman’s queries on a specific email from fugitive Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) about talking points to brief Najib in late 2013. Wan Azwan had asked the IO if the email had been shown to Najib when his statement was taken.
Nur Aida answered in the negative, prompting Wan Azwan to highlight several other instances throughout the lengthy cross-examination, where specific documents were not shown to Najib for confirmation or clarification when his statement was recorded.
This particular email concerns talking points prior to Najib's meeting with former KPMG managing partner Datuk Johan Idris regarding the troubled strategic development firm's audit statement dated March 31, 2013.
Johan, who was the prosecution's 14th witness, had testified that the firm was intimidated by Najib into signing-off the long-delayed 2013 financial statement.
On the stand on Thursday, Nur Aida said that although the email was not specifically shown to the former finance minister, there were statements from others to corroborate what was discussed at the meeting.
She added that the documents were in the thousands, and Najib's statement would take months to complete (if each document were to be shown to Najib).
The defence counsel then asked if there was a "set deadline" by which Najib's statement had to be completed. To this, the IO answered in the negative.
Former 1MDB chief executive officer Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman had also testified that Najib had pressured them into dismissing KPMG as auditors.
KPMG was hesitant to close the audit due to 1MDB's US$2.3 billion investments made through Brazen Sky Ltd in an unknown fund called Bridge Global SPC. The auditors were having difficulty obtaining "evidence on the existence, accuracy, completeness, and valuation of the investment".
Following the meeting between Najib, coupled with KPMG's hesitancy to sign off on the financial statements, the audit firm received a letter from 1MDB informing it that its services as 1MDB's external auditor were to be terminated immediately.
No reasons were given, although KPMG was informed that Deloitte would be replacing it. KPMG was the second auditor sacked by 1MDB upon pressure from Najib, as it declined to sign off on the investment fund's accounts for the financial year ended March 31, 2013 (FY2013). KPMG took over the audit job from Ernst & Young, which had been removed in 2010.
The trial before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues.