KUALA LUMPUR: An excess of US$790,354,855.00 (approx. RM3.31 billion) in security deposit paid to Aabar Investment PJS Ltd (Aabar) by 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was credited into the account of Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak fraudulently.
Former 1MDB chief executive officer Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, 49, said this while reading his witness statement on the 15th day of Najib’s 1MDB trial at the High Court here today.
The payment was related to the acquisition of Genting (Genting Sanyen) which was concluded with financing via a RM700 million bridging loan and issuance of bonds worth US$1.75 billion (RM7.33 billion).
“I admit there was a huge excess from the financing for the acquisition,” the 9th prosecution witness said.
However, he said he had no idea that the excess in security deposit payment totalling US$790,354,855.00 to Aabar was intended for fraud by others.
“The security deposit payment was made in good faith based on documentation prepared by Jasmine Loo (1MDB’s lawyer), Terence Geh (1MDB director) and Tim Leissner (Goldman Sachs, Asia CEO).
“I only learnt during the investigation that the security deposit was arranged by Jho Low (fugitive businessman, Low Taek Jho) to enable 1MDB funds to go into accounts under his control and subsequently deposited into Datuk Seri Najib’s.
“Jasmine Loo came to me again to present the findings and documents which mainly showed technical aspects of the financial and investment process, which were similar to those in the acquisition of Tanjong Energy Holding Sdn Bhd (TEHSB),” said Shahrol Azral.
He said the documents convinced him that 1MDB was re quired to pay Aabar Investment PJS Ltd a sum of US$790,354,855.00 for security deposit on the US$1.75 billion bond.
The prosecution’s key witness said he saw the reason for the action as similar to what he had stated in a TEHSB remittance in which 1MDB was required to again pay security deposit to Aabar, a subsidiary of International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) as collateral, to be refunded after the initial public offering (IPO).
As with the previous TEHSB transaction, he said he assumed that the payment had been agreed to by both parties, IPIC and 1MDB shareholders and prime minister Najib.
“Later, I was informed by Jasmine Loo that a US$790,354,855.00 remittance document had been signed by Terence Geh and 1MDB chief financial officer (CFO) Azmi Tahir, to be paid into Aabar Investment PJS Ltd’s account at BSI Bank SA, Lugano, Switzerland from the account of Falcon Private Bank (Hong Kong) owned by 1MDB Energy (Langat) Limited (1MELL), 1MDB’s subsidiary.
“Again, I did not know who determined the payment amount of US$790,354,855.00 which in my opinion, was enormous as against the US$1.75 billion in bonds issued for the purchase of independent power producers (IPP) Genting Sanyen,” he said.
However, Shahrol Azral said he did not suspect anything as he thought it had been approved by Najib and IPIC, “based on my action plans and discussions with Jho Low”.
He said he also believed at the time that the security deposit would be returned to the company when the initial public offering (IPO) for its energy assets for listing in Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) had been made.
However, he said during the examination-in-chief by senior deputy public prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram, that the money was never returned to the company even after 1MDB failed to list its energy business in KLSE.
The witness said the payment of US$790,354,855.00 to Aabar Investments PJS Limited was made on Oct 19, 2012. The acquisition of Genting, in his view, was rushed, as compared to TEHSB’s case.
He said the approvals were all done through the Director’s Circular Resolution (DCR) without being presented to the 1MDB board of directors (BOD) meeting.
“The rush was due to pressure from Jho Low who said the loan and guarantee from IPIC must be expedited because of G to G (government to government) cooperation factors and must be done before the 13th general election to ensure it got Najib’s attention before he became too busy with campaigning.
“Eventually, I was transferred to the Performance Management & Delivery Unit (Pemandu) and Hazem Abdul Rahman took over as CEO.
“I don’t precisely know why the Aabar option was terminated because I was no longer directly involved in any of the discussions and dealings. I only knew about it in general, through the media,” he said.
Shahrol Azral was appointed as director of Pemandu, which is under the Prime Minister’s Department , on March 15, 2013.
Najib, 66, faces four counts of using his position to corruptly obtain RM2.3 billion from 1MDB and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same funds.
The Pekan member of parliament allegedly committed the four offences at AmIslamic Bank Berhad, Jalan Raja Chulan branch, Bukit Ceylon here between Feb 24, 2011 and Dec 19, 2014, and the 21 offences, at the same place between March 22, 2013 and Aug 30, 2013.
Hearing continues before justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
“Eventually, I was transferred to the Performance Management & Delivery Unit (Pemandu) and Hazem Abdul Rahman took over as CEO.
“I don’t precisely know why the Aabar option was terminated because I was no longer directly involved in any of the discussions and dealings. I only knew about it in general, through the media,” he said.
Shahrol Azral was appointed as director of Pemandu, which is under the Prime Minister’s Department , on March 15, 2013.
Najib, 66, faces four counts of using his position to corruptly obtain RM2.3 billion from 1MDB and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same funds.
The Pekan member of parliament allegedly committed the four offences at AmIslamic Bank Berhad, Jalan Raja Chulan branch, Bukit Ceylon here between Feb 24, 2011 and Dec 19, 2014, and the 21 offences, at the same place between March 22, 2013 and Aug 30, 2013.
Hearing continues before justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah. — Bernama
