PUTRAJAYA (April 7): A retired police officer who investigated the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal agreed with the prosecution that former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had received monies from the fund, unlike other key members of the company's management, saying they did not get similar "benefits".

The retired investigating officer, R Rajagopal, confirmed that his investigations found no evidence that management personnel such as former chief executive officer Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, his successor former CEO Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman, and former chief financial officer Azmi Tahir received monies allegedly misappropriated from 1MDB.

He was testifying in the 1MDB-Tanore trial, in which Najib is facing four charges of power abuse and 21 money-laundering charges involving some RM2.27 billion worth of 1MDB funds.

Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Mohamad Mustafa P Kunyalam asked Rajagopal: "Ultimately, these [monies] ended up in Najib's account?"

Rajagopal: "A certain portion of these monies ended up in Najib's bank account."

Mustafa: "Azmi, Hazem, and Shahrol, did they receive monies from these transactions?"

Rajagopal: "We have not received any evidence [that] they received proceeds from 1MDB."

During cross-examination on Monday, Mustafa detailed the money trail from the four phases of the 1MDB scam from 2009 to 2014.

These phases — the Good Star phase, the Aabar-BVI phase, the Tanore phase, and the Options Buyback phase — represent distinct periods or specific transactions through which the prosecution alleges funds were misappropriated from 1MDB and subsequently moved through various entities.

Each phase typically involves different shell companies, financial instruments, and alleged beneficiaries, allowing the prosecution to systematically present how the illicit funds flowed and were ultimately traced, in part, to Najib's accounts.

The prosecution had previously detailed these money trails through their witness, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) analyst Adam Ariff Mohd Roslan. Adam had testified that, based on the money flow, a total of RM2.27 billion that Najib received in two of his personal AmBank accounts — AmIslamic Bank account ending 694 (AmPrivate Banking-MR) and account ending 880 (AmPrivate Banking-1MY) — could be traced back to these four phases.

Rajagopal, the 11th defence witness, also agreed with Mustafa that aside from salary and bonuses, the three key management personnel did not receive monies linked to these money trails, unlike Najib.

The defence has always maintained that the management colluded with fugitive financier Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) to swindle 1MDB funds. It should be noted that this included personnel such as former company general counsel Jasmine Loo, who had testified in court that she had received 1MDB funds. Loo also admitted she had received gifts from Jho Low.

Lead defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee had previously referred to some members of the management, especially Shahrol, as a "crook". The defence had also cast aspersions on the credibility of such witnesses, arguing that they had benefitted from their relationship with Jho Low.

In his decision calling for Najib to enter his defence, trial judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah had acknowledged that Loo and Najib's former special officer Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin had both admitted in court that they had received monies from Jho Low. 

Nevertheless, Sequerah had ruled that the prosecution witnesses' testimonies were believable, as they were not accomplices in the 1MDB scam and were candid about receiving "certain favours and gifts".

On Monday, Rajagopal also agreed with the prosecution that police investigations to track some of Jho Low's associates linked to the scandal were ramped up after Najib lost power in 2018.

This particularly applied to former 1MDB executive director of business development Casey Tang Keng Chee and former company executive director of finance Terence Geh Cho Heng, which was highlighted during his cross-examination by DPP Ahmad Akram Gharib.

Akram asked: "Bottom line is, when Najib was PM, there was no all-out effort [usaha giat] to track these people, Terence [Geh] and Casey [Tang]. No steps like you did in 2018?"

Rajagopal: "Agree."

Rajagopal said Geh's initial testimony was recorded in April 2016, but he went missing soon after. The police then issued an Interpol red notice for him but did not receive any information on him at the time. In 2018, they obtained a court-issued arrest warrant for Geh.

As for Tang, Rajagopal said his statement was recorded in Bangkok in June 2016, and that the police had to go to Thailand to record his statement as he did not want to return to Malaysia.

Akram then asked: "I put it to you, why you didn't go all out to get Casey to come back [in 2016 is because] he is seen as a close associate to Jho Low."

Rajagopal replied: "I don't agree."

Akram: "[You didn't pursue Casey further as] Jho Low is close to Najib. You don't want to hurt [menyakiti] Najib."

Rajagopal: "I won't want to agree [that Casey] is close [to Jho Low] that's why we gave him preference not to come back. I disagree [we didn't want to hurt Najib's feelings]. We have to follow procedure."

During re-examination by Shafee, Rajagopal said he had attended a meeting in 2018 with then prime minister Tun Mahathir Mohamed five days after he was sworn in, along with the police's commercial crime unit chief Datuk Seri Amar Singh and then Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun. The meeting was requested by Mahathir, who wanted to be briefed on the police's investigations into 1MDB.

Rajagopal, who joined the police force at 19 and served for 41 years, had previously testified that he took over the investigations into 1MDB in September 2015.

He had also said his investigations only ramped up after April 2016, following the tabling of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on the 1MDB scandal.  

He said no suspect had been identified when he first took over the investigations. However, based on the findings of police investigations, Najib was identified as the suspect around 2019.

The trial continues on Tuesday.