Witness Says Najib Note Shows He Knew Source of $10 Million in His Account
Witness Says Najib Note Shows He Knew Source of $10 Million in His Account
(Bloomberg) -- Former Malaysian leader Najib Razak’s 1MDB trial sheds light on his links to fugitive financier Jho Low in deals involving a former unit of the troubled state fund.
A Kuala Lumpur court heard dozens of witness testimonies related to the 42 million ringgit ($10 million) found in Najib’s personal accounts which allegedly came from SRC International Sdn., once a unit of 1MDB. Lawyers for Najib, who has pleaded not guilty, argued that he was misled by others, including a former CEO of SRC who’s at large. The current trial revolves around seven of the total 42 charges that Najib faces for his alleged role in 1MDB.
Key Developments
- Najib’s next trial is set to begin Aug. 19 after the judge rejected Attorney-General Tommy Thomas’s request for a delay until after the current proceeding is completed
- The trial was interrupted on Thursday as the court house was evacuated due to a bomb threat
- The 1MDB hearing for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. was pushed back to Sept. 30 as the process of filing the charges was incomplete
Najib sent affidavit showing knowledge of fund’s source (July 29)
While Najib had denied knowing the source of the 42 million ringgit, the court heard from a witness that the former premier had sent an affidavit in February 2016 showing he knew the money came through SRC units Gandingan Mentari Sdn. and Ihsan Perdana Sdn.
Separately, former AmBank relationship manager Joanna Yu said that Jho Low was her point of contact in sorting out issues with Najib’s accounts, which were assigned a code name by request from Low. Yu confirmed fund transfers to the accounts, including a $681 million from Tanore Finance Corp., of which $620 million were returned with Low’s direct involvement, she said on the witness stand.
Yu said that Low was the one who represented the funds as gifts or donations and provided supporting letters from the alleged senders. That was also the case for another $75 million transfer that Low described as “super sensitive” and said will be followed by a supporting letter from Saudi Arabia, she said.
Low, whose whereabouts aren’t known, has consistently denied any wrongdoing in response to multiple charges filed against him in Malaysia and the U.S.
Further Reading
Jho Low’s Wharton Friend Helped With Malaysia Links: 1MDB Update
To contact the reporter on this story: Hadi Azmi in Kuala Lumpur at klnews@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Yudith Ho at yho35@bloomberg.net, Liau Y-Sing
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