KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 20): Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi told the court on Thursday that he has "not spent much time thinking" about how he was appointed chief executive officer of the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) despite lacking experience in finance and never managing a sovereign wealth fund.

During cross-examination in 1Malaysia Development Bhd's US$5.64 billion civil suit against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and others, senior defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah pointed out that Shahrol held an electrical engineering degree and had worked only as a consultant before joining TIA — the state-level predecessor of 1MDB — in March 2009. 

Shafee: Do you have a background in finance, accountancy, law or any law-related subjects?

Shahrol: No.

Shafee: This is the first time you were offered the role of CEO of a company?

Shahrol: Correct.

Shafee: You never ran a sovereign wealth fund prior to [your time at TIA]?

Shahrol: Correct.

Shafee: Have you [overseen] a bond issuance before [time at TIA]?

Shahrol: No.

When asked how he secured the company's top executive post, Shahrol said it was "hard for him" to comment as he was not the one who decided on the appointment.

Asked if he had ever wondered why he was hired, the witness merely said: "I haven't spent much time thinking about it."

Following the TIA's federalisation in July 2009, the TIA became 1MDB and Shahrol became the federal sovereign fund's 1MDB's CEO, holding the role until 2013, when Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman took over.

In the separate 1MDB criminal trial where Najib was the sole accused, the defence maintained that Shahrol colluded with fugitive Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) and other management members to mislead Najib and siphon billions from the strategic development fund.

During Thursday's proceedings, Shahrol reiterated his previous court testimony that he met Jho Low in 2007 when the fugitive businessman was attached to Utama Banking Group (UBG). He also affirmed that Jho Low was the one who recommended him for the TIA CEO post.

Lawyer GK Ganesan — representing former 1MDB director of investments Kelvin Tan Kay Jin, the seventh defendant in the suit — again questioned Shahrol's credibility as a "star witness".

Ganesan referenced a separate suit filed by 1MDB against Deutsche Bank and other financial institutions for breach of duty. The lawyer highlighted that 1MDB had, in those court pleadings, characterised Shahrol's conduct in specific transactions as part of a "conspiracy to defraud by unlawful means". 

Ganesan highlighted that despite levelling such claims against Shahrol, 1MDB had turned around and presented Shahrol as a key witness in the ongoing civil case.

Ganesan: They [are] making various allegations [that] you are a guy with no corporate responsibility [...] that you concealed fraud.

Shahrol: I disagree with the statement of claim (SOC).

Ganesan: [It shows that you] are an unreliable and uncreditworthy witness.

Shahrol: I won't be able to comment on what the lawyers filed.

Shahrol maintained that his credibility was a matter for the court to decide, adding he was in court solely to tell the truth and testify to facts, not to assign blame.

Ganesan: You were never sued by 1MDB. You don't have to pay any damages to 1MDB. That's because you made a deal.

Shahrol: I disagree.

The lawsuit was filed by 1MDB and its subsidiaries — 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd, 1MDB Energy Ltd, 1MDB Energy (Langat) Ltd and Global Diversified Investment Company Ltd (formerly known as 1MDB Global Investments Ltd) — on May 7, 2021.

It initially named 15 individuals as defendants, with nine including Najib, who was chairman of 1MDB’s advisory board; former chairman Tan Sri Che Lodin Wok Kamaruddin; former directors Tan Sri Ismee Ismail, Tan Sri Ong Gim Huat and Ashvin Valiram; former CEOs Shahrol and Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman; and former chief financial officers Azmi Tahir and Radhi Mohamad.

The remaining six were former 1MDB officers: Terence Geh Choh Heng, Jasmine Loo Ai Swan, Casey Tang Keng Chee, Vincent Beng Huat Koh, Kelvin Tan Kay Jin and Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil.

Except for five — Najib, Tang, Koh, Tan and Nik Faisal — the rest have been removed as defendants.

Tang, Koh, Tan and Nik Faisal remain at large.

The trial before High Court Judicial Commissioner Mohamad Redzuan Idrus continues on Aug 26 with further cross-examination of Shahrol.