Letters of support for PetroSaudi International (PSI) that aimed to clear the company of suspicion in 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) could have been forgeries created by Jho Low, the High Court was told today.
Testifying at the trial of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who was his former boss, Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin said he and another ex-colleague, the late Datuk Azlin, were shown five letters of support purportedly from various international financial firms and even the Saudi Arabian government that claimed to prove PSI to be a legitimate entity.
“Jho Low at the time wanted to show that PetroSaudi was a legitimate company that is related to and had the support of the Arab Saudi government as well as connections to the Saudi Royal family.
“Low had shown the letter to us after the misappropriation of 1MDB funds by PetroSaudi into the accounts that were suspected of belonging to him have been widely publicised.
“The letters were made as evidence to show that PetroSaudi did not commit any wrongdoings,” Amhari, the eighth witness said.
He said the letters surfaced between late 2014 and early 2015 as a means of “damage control” after the 1MDB scandal was exposed.
Amhari said he now believes the letters could be forged as Low was well connected to “influential figures”, but that he thought they were genuine initially.
“At that time, I believed that these letters were the originals based on the letterhead of each letter. However, based on what I’ve seen and gone through to this day, I can say that the verses and the contents of this letter were able to be managed and planned fully by Jho Low.
“This is based on Jho Low’s modus operandi which set the agenda and placed his own people in various positions to approve and to conduct a particular agenda.
“He is capable and very influential, including ensuring his contacts can influence the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Kuala Lumpur, the ambassador of Malaysia to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian banks, the Helvetica company and JP Morgan Suisse Bank to produce letters according to his intended purposes.”
– MMO