PUTRAJAYA (Jan 7): The dissolution of the government task force investigating 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) was an “administrative decision”, and not as a result of any directive by then-prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the court heard on Tuesday.

Testifying in his defence in the ongoing 1MDB-Tanore trial, the now-imprisoned former prime minister said that there was no evidence to suggest that he had ordered the disbandment of the multi-agency joint task force in July 2015.

“The allegation that I instructed the task force’s disbandment is nothing more than a simplistic and baseless sound bite, crafted to unfairly cast blame on me,” said Najib.

“The dissolution of the task force was not a directive from me, but an administrative decision communicated at the appropriate institutional level,” he said.

The multi-agency joint-task force, included, among others, the police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), and the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC).  

The task force was set up in 2015 and led by then-attorney general (AG) Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail. Following Gani’s removal as AG, the task force was disbanded in July 2015, when Najib still helmed the government.

On Tuesday, Najib insisted that investigations into 1MDB were not hampered by the task-force’s disbandment, as individual agencies continued with their respective investigations.

“Bank Negara Malaysia had already launched its independent probe, which led to a RM15 million fine imposed on 1MDB in 2016. Concurrently, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) continued its hearings, and other law enforcement agencies actively pursued their inquiries,” Najib said.

Addressing Gani’s removal as AG and then-MACC chief Tan Sri Abu Kassim’s departure, Najib said the “leadership” changes at the MACC and the AGC were part of an “administrative reshuffling”.

“The changes in leadership at both the MACC and the Attorney General’s Chambers were part of an administrative reshuffling, and had nothing to do with any directive or interference from me,” he said.

Najib added that he had intended to recommend the ex-AG as a Federal Court judge, but this did not materialise.  

On Tuesday, Najib also denied that he had asked former central bank governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz to issue statements absolving him of any wrongdoings in 2015.

“At no point did I ask her to issue such a statement. My request was for her, as the [then] governor, to issue a statement addressing the growing public concerns and queries about the source of funds in the accounts, amid the rampant misinformation and speculation at the time. However, she declined this request, which was within her discretion,” he said.

Najib went on to repeat that even at that juncture, neither Zeti, nor the central bank had raised any red flags regarding the funds in his personal accounts.

“The notion that I pressured or directed her to make a declaration of ‘no wrongdoing’ is patently absurd, and is contradicted by her own failure to exercise her regulatory powers if concerns indeed existed,” he said.

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

The trial before presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues.