KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 4): The recent Swiss court decision against PetroSaudi International Ltd (PSI) executives over the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal clearly shows that former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was not implicated in the misappropriation of funds, the court heard on Wednesday.

Citing the decision in August against PSI chief executive officer (CEO) Tarek Obaid and then-PSI director Patrick Mahony, the 71 year-old said that the “independent” findings by the European court did not link him to the siphoning of 1MDB monies.

“The recent conviction [...] underscores an undeniable fact: I was not involved, nor implicated in the misappropriation of these funds. The court’s findings make no mention of any evidence connecting me to the siphoning of funds, or the laundering of the US$700 million,” he said, testifying in his defence in the ongoing 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-Tanore trial.

The US$700 million is in reference to the monies that was diverted to Good Star Ltd, an outfit linked to fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (Jho Low). The monies were eventually misappropriated.

The 1MDB board had directed that US$1 billion be deposited into the accounts of 1MDB PetroSaudi Ltd, the fund’s joint-venture (JV) company with oil services company PSI. 

1MDB’s management, however, diverted US$700 million of the US$1 billion into an account belonging to Good Star, on grounds that Good Star was PSI’s affiliate.

The JV agreement was also not entered into with PSI, but rather with a company called PetroSaudi Holdings (Cayman) Ltd.

On the stand on Wednesday, Najib said: “There is no evidence that any of the US$700 million misappropriated through the Good Star account came to me. The Good Star account, which was under Jho Low’s control, was shown to have been fully depleted by the time investigators traced the funds. This directly contradicts the prosecution’s narrative suggesting my involvement, and that I received funds traceable to the US$700 million”.

Previously, prosecution witness Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) analyst Adam Ariff Mohd Roslan had detailed that the RM60,629,839.43, which is at the heart of the first abuse of power charge, was transferred to Najib’s personal account by a “Prince Faisal” from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The witness testified that the monies, which were transferred from a Riyad Bank account, originated from Good Star’s bank account.

It also has to be noted that witnesses have testified that voluminous amounts of monies were transferred through numerous bank accounts at considerable speed, so that the monies would be difficult to trace down.

On Wednesday, Najib also questioned Adam’s credibility, saying that the 47th witness had “tailored” his money trail report to implicate the former PM.

The Swiss Federal Criminal Court ruled that both Mahony and Obaid had deliberately deceived the 1MDB board into believing that PSI had links with the Saudi Arabian government, and that PSI would contribute significant oil assets to the companies’ JV.

They were both convicted of fraud, criminal mismanagement and money laundering. They were indicted of defrauding 1MDB of US$1.8 billion to enrich themselves, with Obaid getting at least US$805 million, and Mahony at least US$37 million.

Obaid was sentenced to seven years in prison, while Mahony received a sentence of six years. They were also ordered to pay back US$1.75 billion to 1MDB. Both are appealing the decision.

While on the stand on Wednesday, Najib also chided the prosecution, arguing why he would put his 32-year political reputation on the line, in exchange for a relatively small amount of money. 

He also said that the prosecution was trying to paint him as “the most generous self-sacrificing co-conspirator” in history, as others involved in the 1MDB scam received much larger sums than what Najib is accused to have received. 

“Also, the prosecution’s narrative is very kind to me, as it paints me as the most ‘generous and self-sacrificing’ purported co-conspirator in history. The prosecution’s narrative essentially alleges that I generously enable everyone to enrich themselves with hundreds of million, while I, purportedly Jho Low’s ‘mirror image’ and the so-called joint mastermind of this scheme, receive a mere fraction of the spoil’s years later, while on the other hand, Jho Low would immediately receive a total of US$547 million; Tarek Obaid, US$ 120 million; and Patrick Mahoney, US$33 million,” he said. 

In this trial, Najib is accused of four abuses of power, and 21 money-laundering charges.

The trial before presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues.

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