PUTRAJAYA — The defence in Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial informed the High Court today that there was no clear indication the company’s decision to enter into a joint venture with PetroSaudi International Ltd (PSI) was influenced by Najib’s phone conversation with former 1MDB chairman Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh.
Najib’s counsel, Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin, submitted that the conduct of 1MDB’s management and board of directors (BOD) demonstrated their intention to proceed with the joint venture even before the said phone conversation.
“This is especially because the contemporaneous records also show that they (1MDB management and BOD) were taking active steps to finalise and work towards the realisation of the partnership with PSI, with the appointment of corporate representatives and the opening of a joint bank account with PSI, of all things.
“The greater question is, if the BOD was directed to participate in the joint venture with PSI by the Prime Minister himself, how dare they impose prerequisites and stipulations before agreeing to enter the joint venture to delay the matter?” he submitted during Najib’s trial for the alleged misappropriation of RM2.3 billion in 1MDB funds, before Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
During previous proceedings, it was established that the phone call was made by fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) asking Najib if he would speak to Mohd Bakke before a 1MDB special board meeting on Sept 26, 2009, to convey the general context of the purported Government-to-Government initiative between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.
Wan Azwan Aiman contended that despite Mohd Bakke’s assertion that the joint venture would not have proceeded without the brief telephone conversation, the Notice of the Special Board Meeting dated Sept 25, 2009, demonstrated otherwise, as the meeting had been specifically convened to approve the venture with PSI.
The defence is presently advancing submissions on the first charge against Najib under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act 2009, which alleges that during a special meeting held at The Royale Bintang, Damansara, Petaling Jaya, he had directed the Board of Directors to approve a resolution for 1MDB to enter into a joint venture with PSI by subscribing to RM1 billion worth of ordinary shares in the company at USD1.00 per share.
