(Sept 3): Former Malaysian leader Najib Razak is facing the biggest set of charges yet in his second 1MDB trial, which is set to shed light on the troubled state fund’s billion-dollar bond deals and acquisitions.
The current case will center around 25 charges, including accusations he received bribes linked to state support for US$3 billion ($4.18 billion) of 1MDB debt sales and allegations he accepted gratuity involving a US$1 billion joint venture with PetroSaudi International Ltd. His lawyers have argued he was misled by others, including fugitive financier Jho Low. Najib has pleaded not guilty to all 42 charges he faces for his alleged role in 1MDB.
Key Developments
- Najib’s first trial may conclude as soon as November as the judge is set to decide whether to call on the defence then or move on to delivering a verdict
- The current witness is Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin, former aide to Najib who was involved in a settlement between 1MDB and Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Co.
- Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s lawyer will hold watching brief at the trial, after Malaysia charged the bank’s current and former directors, including Vice Chairman Richard J. Gnodde and John Michael Evans, now president of Alibaba Group Holding.
Jho Low held “extraordinary powers” in Najib’s office
Witness Amhari said Jho Low held outsize authority in government-to-government talks, 1MDB dealings and funding for the former premier. Amhari said he attended multiple meetings with Low and the late Azlin Alias, who was private secretary to Najib, at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
The meetings discussed 1MDB matters including a shortlist for its board of directors and Terengganu Investment Authority, or TIA, the precursor to the troubled state fund. Amhari said he and Azlin would be quarantined for 30 minutes to an hour before meeting with Low, who was always late and in a rush. Low was the one to organize the sessions, and he would tell them that he had met with Najib who agreed to the instructions he gave them, the witness said.
“Jho is Najib’s trusted person, which is why Najib did not need to attend the meetings,” Amhari said on the witness stand.
In a session at his house, Low described how TIA would be modeled on Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co and invest overseas to earn returns for Malaysian economic and social projects, the witness said.
