KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today was told that Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak had approved the proposal of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) for the acquisition of Tanjong Energy Holdings Sdn Bhd (TEHSB) at a bid price of RM10.6 billion in February 2012.
Former 1MDB chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, 49, said he was confident that Najib, who was holding the portfolio of finance minister at that time, was aware of the details of the transaction based on the talking points given by the fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low via email and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM).
“In fact, during the process of the acquisition, Jho Low had told me that Datuk Seri Najib had made a guarantee request from the International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) through a personal call to the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi himself.
“1MDB Energy Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of 1MDB, had acquired TEHSB at a bid price of RM10.6 billion and Datuk Seri Najib had signed the document in his capacity as a special share holder through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc),“ he said while referring to a shareholder document entitled ‘Proposed Acquisition of The Entire Equity Interest in TEHSB” dated Feb 9, 2012.
The ninth prosecution witness, who is also the key witness, said this during the examination-in-chief by senior deputy public prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram on the 14th day of the former premier’s trial.
When asked by Sri Ram on how Najib signed the approval documents, the witness said all the matters were handled by 1MDB lawyer Jasmine Loo Ai Swan.
Shahrol Azral said that about a month after Najib approved the purchase of TEHSB, a second board of directors (BOD) meeting was held on March 2, 2012 to present the status and obtain the BOD approval to sign the sale and purchase agreement (SPA).
“Jasmine Loo presented the working papers and the agenda at this meeting because it was her responsibility and she and her team were the experts in this field. The BOD then approved the SPA for it to be signed by me,“ he said.
Earlier, Shahrol Azral said in his testimony that he felt the sale of TEHSB shares by renowned tycoon Ananda Krishnan was a good opportunity for 1MDB to venture into the energy field in Malaysia and enabling the energy sector to be under the control of a government-owned company namely 1MDB.
“Jho Low said Datuk Seri Najib wanted 1MDB to expand the idea of an electric power company to become like the Électricité de France (EDF), a large Independent Power Producer (IPP) company in France.
“The proposal for the purchase of the IPP was later brought by Jho Low and his friend Tim Leissner and I agreed because the idea made sense and could benefit 1MDB and Malaysia,“ said Shahrol Azral, who got the idea when invited by Mudabala Investment. Company to watch the F1 race in Abu Dhabi where the invitation was arranged by Jho Low himself.
“They came back to me with additional information regarding the sale and confirmed that TEHSB would be sold. It was at that time, Goldman Sachs began to get involved in TEHSB’s informal purchasing process,“ he said.
Shahrol Azral recalled that the involvement of Goldman Sachs had existed since Terengganu Investment Authority Berhad (TIA) became a financial advisor with the same officers from Goldman Sachs namely Roger Ng and Tim Leissner, who were really close to Jho Low.
“Goldman Sachs was represented by Tim Leissner and Jasmine Loo was the individual who brought in Goldman Sachs to assist 1MDB as a financial consultant for the IPP buying process.
“At that time, I thought Jho Low was very close to Najib and had always updated the status of IMDB to him. Jasmine Loo is Jho Low’s former officer at Utama Banking Group (UBG) Berhad and had a close relationship with him,” he said.
Shahrol Azral added that on Feb 7, 2012, Goldman Sachs had sent him an engagement letter as managing director and CEO of 1MDB to seek the approval of 1MDB to appoint Goldman Sachs (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (GSMSB) as financial advisor for the acquisition of TEHSB.
“Some details had been fixed such as payment of service transaction fee of 0.5 per cent of the total acquisition value, in cash. However, if for some reason, 1MDB stopped or terminated the acquisition deal midway, the service transaction fee would be 30 per cent of the acquisition value in cash.
“I had to sign this engagement letter because Goldman Sachs cannot make a presentation at the BOD meeting without a formal engagement from 1MDB although the company had been doing the work since Nov 2011,“ he said.
Najib, 66, faces four counts of using his position to obtain bribes amounting to RM2.3 billion in 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same funds.
The Pekan Member of Parliament is alleged to have committed four corruption offences at the AmIslamic Bank Berhad branch, Jalan Raja Chulan, Bukit Ceylon here between Feb 24, 2011 and Dec 19, 2014, and all the money laundering offences were committed at the same place between March 22, 2013 and Aug 30, 2013.
The hearing before Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues. — Bernama
