KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 11): The 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-Tanore trial continues today with the cross-examination of the former Cabinet deputy-secretary Tan Sri Mazidah Abdul Majid.
Mazidah was called in to testify after former 1MDB chief executive officer Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman, who was the preceding prosecution witness, became unwell.
Yesterday, she testified that during a meeting in 2010, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had instructed his Cabinet to keep mum about a purported donation from Saudi Arabia's Prince Saud Abdulaziz Al-Saud to the troubled fund's charity arm Yayasan 1MDB, as the prince had requested that the contribution not be made public.
Mazidah, who attended the Cabinet meeting which Najib chaired on Sept 8, 2010, revealed that Najib had told the Cabinet he was having formal and informal engagements with certain parties from the Middle East, which had responded positively to many matters involving Malaysia's interests.
According to Mazidah, Najib said the Saudi crown prince had agreed to contribute to Yayasan 1MDB through his charitable foundation.
Mazidah claimed that Najib said Yayasan 1MDB had received the first donation from the crown prince, who will be making a further contribution after that.
Najib is contesting 25 charges linked to abuse of power and money laundering over hundreds of millions of dollars of funds received in his personal bank account.
The charges included four counts of abuse of power involving RM2.28 billion in 1MDB funds, whereby Najib used his position as prime minister, finance minister and chairman of 1MDB to obtain the funds.
In addition, prosecutors also charged Najib with 21 counts of money laundering, namely nine counts of receiving illegal proceeds, five counts of using illegal proceeds and seven counts of transferring the proceeds to other entities.
"The money laundering charges describe how Najib received RM2.1 billion from Tanore Finance Corp, which US authorities have said was used to siphon money from 1MDB," CNA reported on Sept 20, 2018.
As such, Najib’s trial has been referred to as the 1MDB-Tanore trial, which is being heard before High Court judge Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
The defence will cross-examine Mazidah when the trial resumes today at 9.15am.