Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on February 5, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds was put in his personal accounts by fugitive financier Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) to disguise the latter’s own purloining of billions of ringgit from 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

Testifying at his SRC trial, Najib added that the Penang-born Jho Low had intentionally siphoned money into the former premier’s personal accounts, so he would not ask any questions about the financier’s schemes.

“He must have thought if he didn’t continue to ensure money in my accounts, it would affect his relationship with me. More seriously, it would lead me to uncover his scams,” Najib said.

Najib also asserted the RM42 million as minuscule compared with Jho Low making off with billions of ringgit.

The former prime minister said Jho Low perceived him as an investment from which the businessman had benefitted.

“He did it to ensure I had faith in him. The RM42 million is minuscule compared with what he had done. He saw this as an investment to continue to benefit,” Najib said.

Najib was answering his lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah’s questions during re-examination.

Muhammad Shafee then asked Najib why Jho Low would want to scam him by crediting money into his personal accounts, a question the prosecution had also asked the accused during cross-examination.

“If he did not ensure the purported donation money is in my accounts, I would start getting suspicious of my cheques bouncing. That means I would ask questions and investigate. I would have found out this was a scam,” Najib said, adding he only found out Jho Low’s schemes when being questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and throughout the trial.

Najib was then allowed to stand down as the first defence witness. He took the witness stand on Dec 3 last year.

The ex-premier faces seven counts of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power, involving RM42 million of SRC funds. He allegedly received RM27 million and RM5 million on Dec 26, 2014, and another RM10 million on Feb 10, 2015.

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