Najib unsatisfied with contents of 1MDB audit report, court told

TheEdge Wed, Nov 20, 2019 09:44am - 4 years View Original


KUALA LUMPUR: Former chief secretary to the government Tan Sri Ali Hamsa told the High Court yesterday that then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had expressed dissatisfaction with the audit report’s contents on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) which was to be tabled before the Public Accounts Committee.

Ali, 64, the fourth prosecution witness, said Najib called him on Feb 22, 2016 at the Prime Minister’s Office.

“The meeting, also attended by then auditor-general Tan Sri Ambrin Buang, was for the 1MDB audit report as he (Najib) was unsatisfied with the report’s contents,” he said, adding that at that time, he did not know what the problem was concerning the audit report.

“Najib mentioned he did not want two different financial statements for 1MDB to be submitted in the 1MDB audit report.”

Ali explained that though he was a member of the 1MDB board of advisers (BoA), he was not called to attend BoA meetings, and neither signed any documents nor involved in the audit process of the state-owned company.

“Najib instructed me to hold a coordination meeting between the National Audit Department [and] former 1MDB chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy and other officers.

“The coordination meeting was held on Feb 24, 2016 with 1MDB, the Audit Department, Treasury, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and the Prime Minister’s Office to resolve the issue,” he said.

Ali chaired the Feb 24, 2016 meeting, attended by former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission head Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad, Najib’s principal private secretary Tan Sri Shukry Mohd Salleh, former finance ministry deputy secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Isa Hussain and Arul Kanda, among others.

Dzulkifli was then head of the money laundering and forfeiture unit at the AGC before his ascension to MACC chief commissioner.

“During the meeting, no minutes were recorded. I then let the members discuss on the issues arising from the 1MDB audit report,” said Ali.

He added that Arul Kanda had insisted on removing matters highlighted in the 1MDB audit report by the National Audit Department as they “were not factual and were merely hearsay” and that the report be prepared “in accordance with what he wants”.

At the end of the meeting, it was agreed the following would be removed from the audit report:

• two conflicting versions of 1MDB’s financial statements for 2014

• the agreement between Country Group Securities Thailand and ACME Time Ltd

• Low Taek Jho’s presence at 1MDB meetings

• the delay in issuing Islamic medium-term notes.

Senior Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram asked Ali how the then PM looked on Feb 22, 2016. The witness said Najib “looked a little upset”.

He added that if Najib had not called for the Feb 24 meeting, it would not have taken place.

Sri Ram asked Ali — who was in the civil service for 38 years — if he had ever attended a meeting like the one held on Feb 24. The former government chief secretary said no.

When asked if he had reported to Najib about the Feb 24 discussions, Ali said he believed Shukry had done so.

‘Arul Kanda asked for police investigation into conflicting financial statements’

Ali testified that Arul Kanda had admitted there were two conflicting versions.

“He insisted that the conflicting versions shall not be included in the 1MDB audit report and asked for a police investigation to be conducted,” he said.

At the end, Ali told Mohamad Isa to lodge a police report on behalf of the Minister of Finance Inc to unearth any elements of fraud or concealment of facts regarding 1MDB’s 2014 financial statements.

Mohamad Isa did not object to the instructions and even promised to form a special committee to follow up on the issue. Following this, Ambrin agreed to remove the four items from the report. However, Ali later found out the report was not lodged.

Today, an audio recording of the Feb 24 meeting will be played in court before Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan.

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