KUALA LUMPUR - The High Court here today was told that the former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi had transferred the company’s fund into Good Star Ltd, a company owned by fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho low, twice.
Lawyer Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin who acted for the former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak submitted that, after the first transaction of US$700 million in 2009, the second transaction involving US$330 million took place in 2011.
"This would be the second time Shahrol Azral parted with a further US$330 million of 1MDB’s fund to Good Star.
"If the prosecution is looking for evidence of a system at 1MDB, they should be looking at their own brilliant beacon witness, Shahrol Azral,” he said in his submissions at the end of the prosecution's case before Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah today.
Previously, it was reported that a total of US$700 million of 1MDB’s money was transferred into Good Star in 2009 through the instructions of Shahrol Azral and the second transaction of US$330 million had taken place in 2011.
The US$330 million was part of PetroSaudi International Ltd’s further drawdown under a Murabaha Financing Agreement (MFA) with 1MDB.
The MFA was entered into between both parties after terminating their joint venture (JV), which involved 1MDB injecting US$1 billion cash, of which US$700 million was diverted to Good Star.
In 2019, Shahrol Azral testified that he only knew Good Star was linked to Jho Low in 2015.
Najib, 71, faces four charges of abusing his position to obtain RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds at the AmIslamic Bank Berhad branch on Jalan Raja Chulan, Bukit Ceylon, between Feb 24, 2011, and Dec 19, 2014.
He also faces 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount at the same bank between March 22, 2013 and Aug 30, 2013.
Najib is charged under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act and can be punished under Section 24(1) of the same Act, and under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act.
The submissions continue on Sept 10. - BERNAMA