Najib says he did not follow Jho Low's instructions

Monday 20 Jan 2025

PUTRAJAYA (Jan 20): Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak reiterated in court on Monday that he did not take instructions from fugitive Low Taek Jho (Jho Low).

"I don't follow Jho Low's instructions; you are implying that," the now imprisoned Najib said during cross examination at the ongoing 1Malaysia Development Bhd-Tanore trial.

Throughout his defence, Najib has been trying to distance himself from Jho Low, who the prosecution claims to be his "mirror-image" in the multi-billion-dollar scandal.

On Monday, the line of questioning was focused on 1MDB's US$2.3 billion (RM10.3 billion) investments made through Brazen Sky Ltd in an unknown fund called Bridge Global SPC.

Brazen Sky was said to be a special purpose vehicle of 1MDB and Bridge Global a Cayman Island-based hedge fund. However, Brazen Sky turned out to be a ‘ruse’ company set up by Jho Low while the investments in the form of promissory notes were worthless.

Specifically, the questions revolved around Jho Low's email listing down a series of "talking points" to ward off prying eyes over 1MDB's dubious investment.

When asked, Najib testified that Jho Low was not present during a meeting held in Nov 2013 to discuss the purported impasse with its auditor KPMG.

The meeting was attended by former 1MDB chairman Tan Sri Che Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, director Tan Sri Ismee Ismail, 1MDB chief executive officer Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman and 1MDB chief financial officer Azmi Tahir.

Deputy public prosecutor Deepa Nair Thevaharan asked if Najib had seen the email with the list of talking points, to which the ex-PM replied in the negative.

Najib also disagreed that Jho Low had led the brief, in order to get all parties to be on the same page about the investments.

"I wanted the issue to be resolved"

Deepa: You agree [that the] contents [of email was a preparation] to handle questions by KPMG.

Najib: I also wanted the issue to be resolved. I was very, very concerned [about the] funds.

KPMG, external auditor for 1MDB from 2010-2013, had yet to sign off on 1MDB’s financial statements for the financial year ending March 31, 2013. The firm had been requesting information since April 2013 which it had yet to receive even toward the end of the year.

Bridge Global, via BSI Bank, cited “client confidentiality” as the reason why it was not able to disclose complete information on the underlying assets. On Monday, Najib also said that both Hazeem and Azmi were not referring to documents but rather, arguing "verbally" that the underlying assets can't be disclosed.

The meeting was also attended by BSI representative Yak Yew Chee. Yak was also Jho Low's relationship manager at BSI bank and the banker in charge of the 1MDB account for Swiss bank BSI.

However, when asked who brought Yak to the meeting, Najib merely replied: "The management".

"They [the management] all seem to agree that the funds seem to be intact,” he said. During the meeting, Yak said the US$2.3 billion was in the bank, according to Najib.

Yak was sentenced to 18 weeks' jail after pleading guilty to four criminal charges before a Singaporean court for forgery and failure to flag suspicious transactions in the investigations related to 1MDB in 2016.

Najib says asked management to bring money back

On Monday, Najib also testified that he had reservations about Yak's presentation and followed this up by asking the management to bring back the money.

Deepa: You believed Yak's presentation [about the funds]?

Najib: I had some reservations. I wanted the money to be brought back.

Deepa: What steps did you take [to ensure this happened]?

Najib: I asked the management to bring back the money… that was my instruction.

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

The trial before presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues.

Edited ByJason Ng

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