KUALA LUMPUR - The High Court here was told that fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low was invited by the management of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) for a special board meeting of the company held at the Royale Bintang Damansara on Sept 26, 2009.
Former non-executive director of 1MDB Tan Sri Ismee Ismail, 58, said former chief executive officer of 1MDB Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi or Casey Tang Keng Chee (former executive director of 1MDB) might have invited Jho Low to the confidential meeting.
The 13th prosecution witness said this during cross-examination by Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah in the former premier’s trial over the misappropriation of RM2.3 billion in funds from 1MDB.
The meeting chaired by Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh, was also attended by Tan Sri Che Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, Shahrol Azral, Tan Sri Azlan Zainol, Casey Tang and the witness himself.
Ismee, who referred to the minutes of the meeting, agreed that there was no question raised or records on how Jho Low was invited and for what purpose.
"I recall before the start of meeting we did talk about it, and from my perspective, his presence there during that time was to enlighten the board on a proposed joint venture (JV) with PetroSaudi International Ltd (PSI),” he said.
Muhammad Shafee: Jho Low did not seem to have uttered a single word throughout the meeting, because otherwise his explanation would have been recorded in this (meeting) minutes.
Ismee replied "Yes”.
When asked about the US$1 billion JV deal with PSI, the witness said he was given the "impression” that the former prime minister wanted the board to proceed with the JV.
He testified that former 1MDB chairman Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh had told the directors he had spoken to Najib on the phone before the Sept 26, 2009 meeting.
"What I can recall was Mohd Bakke telling us that ‘PM wants us to do this thing (the PSI joint venture)’,” he said.
Muhammad Shafee then questioned Ismee on whether Mohd Bakke had mentioned words such as "Don’t spend too much time looking at the past transactions”.
In response, Ismee said Mohd Bakke did not go into details of his phone call with Najib.
"Basically, Mohd Bakke said the board had to firm up a decision (on PSI),” he said.
Last week, at Najib’s 1MDB audit report tampering trial, Mohd Bakke testified Najib told him via phone to not spend too much time looking at past transactions and to just focus on a proposed JV between the sovereign wealth fund and PSI.
During today's proceedings, Muhammad Shafee suggested that what Mohd Bakke told Ismee and others in the meeting room was "not exactly what the then prime minister had told him (Mohd Bakke).
"He (Mohd Bakke) might have wanted to impress the board of directors” said the senior lawyer.
To this, Ismee replied that only Mohd Bakke could testify about what was conversed during his phone call with Najib.
Meanwhile, another witness, former 1MDB chief financial officer Azmi Tahir said he never verified instructions received from Najib's former principal private secretary the late Datuk Azlin Alias, which was said came directly from Najib himself.
Counsel Datuk Hariharan Tara Singh was referring the 12th prosecution witness to a part in his witness statement where he undertook to execute and signed several documents related to a joint venture between BSI bank and 1MDB Global Investments Ltd (1MDB GIL) in March 2013.
However, Azmi said most of Azlin’s instructions will only be in verbal or text message format and it was never written in proper documentation.
The witness also agreed to a suggestion by Hariharan that he never verified these instructions with Najib because he assume whatever came from Azlin was Najib’s direction.
Najib, 68, is facing four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
The trial before judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues tomorrow. - BERNAMA