Najib agrees his late principal private secretary was a man of integrity, yet he claims Azlin did not inform him of the RM42 million in his bank account.
9.58am: The accused Najib Abdul Razak enters the Kuala Lumpur High Court and takes a seat at the front row of the public gallery.
Also seen in court is Attorney-General Tommy Thomas and DPPs, as well as members of Najib’s defence team.
10.15am: Najib enters the witness stand as proceedings begin.
DPP V Sithambaram questions Najib on his defence that he was a victim of Jho Low’s manipulation.
Sithambaram: You have told your counsels in the course of the prosecution’s case and in your witness statement that you are accusing Low of manipulating your accounts. Am I correct, sir?
Najib: Yes, he was dealing with (former SRC International CEO) Nik Faisal (Ariff Kamil), I believe. I don’t know the details…
Sithambaram: You accuse him (Low) of manipulating your account?
Najib: Yes.
Sithambaram: As a result of this alleged manipulation of your account by Low, you did not lose any money from your bank accounts?
Najib: No, I didn’t
Sithambaram: In fact, Datuk Seri, to the contrary, you benefited by the millions of ringgit deposited by Low.
Najib: I didn’t ask for it.
Sithambaram: With all due respect sir, that’s not my question. You didn’t lose any money, but in fact, you benefited money deposited by Low into your accounts.
Najib: Yes.
10.30am: Najib testifies that his late principal private secretary Azlin Alias hid from him information regarding the inflow of RM42 million into the former premier’s bank accounts.
He also agrees that Azlin was a man of integrity and someone he (Najib) trusted implicitly until today.
Sithambaram: He (Azlin) would have no reason as a man of integrity to keep as secret the RM42 million paid into the accounts?
Najib: He (Azlin) did not tell me about it.
Sithambaram: He kept it a secret?
Najib: Yes, he did not tell me about the RM42 million.
10.36am: Najib says that Azlin only informed him (Najib) whether he had enough in the accounts to issue cheques.
Sithambaram: Are you telling this court, from the time you opened your accounts in 2011 until March 2015, you have never seen your bank statements?
Najib: Yes.
The accused also says that his bank statements were never sent to him.
10.45am: Najib says he never questioned Azlin about the source of funds in his bank accounts.
Queried further on why he did not ask about the source of the money in his accounts, Najib says he trusted Azlin.
“I just assume it came from legitimate source,” he adds.
11am: Sithambaram is asking Najib about a previous testimony by Finance Ministry official Afidah Azwa Abdul Aziz that she was told by the ministry’s secretary Maliami Hamad that SRC was the prime minister’s company.
Earlier, the DPP was also asking Najib whether SRC and its subsidiary didn’t take any steps to recover the RM42 million that was transferred from SRC’s account to Najib’s, to which the accused agreed.
Sithambaram: That is because Afidah and Maliami said that SRC was the prime minister’s company?
Najib (raises voice): Disagree.
11.05am: It was reported that Najib allegedly received RM2.6 billion into his bank accounts in 2013.
Sithambaram: From 2011 to 2014, Datuk Seri (Najib) received a substantial donation which you believed were from King Abdullah?
Najib: Yes.
Sithambaram: You cannot confirm that the donation was indeed from King Abdullah?
Najib: I received (the money) in good faith.
Sithambaram: You could not confirm it was from King Abdullah?
Najib: I assumed it was from King Abdullah.
11.31am: Court adjourns for a short break.
12pm: Proceedings resume.
12.05pm: Najib disagrees that he is only shifting the blame to Jho Low to avoid legal consequences.
He says this when being questioned by Sithambaram over his bank accounts, which Najib claimed had been manipulated by Low.
12.18pm: Najib denies that he diverted millions of ringgit into his personal accounts when he ran out of “Arab money” he previously received.
12.55pm: Najib denies using his own funds to regularise his overdrawn bank accounts so that he could issue cheques.
Najib is answering a question from Sithambaram about a letter from former SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil to AmBank. Nik Faisal was the person authorised by Najib to manage the latter’s bank accounts.
The letter purportedly stated that Najib’s money from his personal accounts would be used to regularise his overdrawn accounts, such as account ending in 906.
“No, it cannot be. It is not,” Najib replies.
Proceedings then adjourn for lunch.
2.43pm: The trial resumes.
3.15pm: Najib testifies that maybe it was Jho Low who deposited the money into his bank accounts to regularise it.
Sithambaram: Did he (Low) put in the funds (into your accounts)?
Najib: Most probably. I don’t know.
Earlier, Sithambaram earlier asked Najib on his witness statement which states that Azlin or Nik Faisal may have communicated with Low.
3.40pm: Najib testifies that despite no evidence being presented in court, he believes Low kept his bank and credit card statements from him (Najib).
Sithambaram: The evidence is not established (in court).
Najib: It is not a fantasy, it was Jho Low’s decision.
When Sithambaram insists there is no evidence established in court to show Low trying to keep the statements from Najib, the former premier replies this is what he believes.
Najib adds that Low did not want him to know how the bank accounts were being managed.
4pm: Proceedings adjourn for a short break.
4.17pm: Proceedings resume.
4.40pm: Najib says he does not know why Jho Low would deposit millions of ringgit into his bank accounts.
He also declines to speculate on the possible reasons for Low doing so.
Najib says this during questioning by Sithambaram regarding the total sum of about RM90 million deposited by Low into Najib’s accounts in 2014 and 2015.
Sithambaram: You also know that Jho Low has been in communication with Nik Faisal regarding your (bank) accounts?
Najib: Yes.
Sithambaram: Are you able to explain why Jho Low must pay some RM80 million to RM90 million to your accounts?
Najib: No. I don’t want to speculate.
Sithambaram: I put to you that there was nothing to speculate. Because it was paid into your account with your knowledge
Najib: It was done without my knowledge. I disagree.
Sithambaram: Do you agree that you spent the sum of money put by Jho Low?
Najib: If the accounts show it, then I spent the money.
4.46pm: Najib seems to accuse Nik Faisal, Low and Azlin of lying about the state of his (Najib’s) bank accounts.
Sithambaram is asking Najib whether Nik Faisal, Low and Azlin had lied so that he (Najib) could continue to spend money in the accounts.
Earlier today, Najib claimed that his bank statements were kept away from him.
Sithambaram: Your evidence (testimony), that Nik Faisal and Jho Low, and I suspect Azlin, lied to you so you could spend money in the accounts is not true and does not make sense.
Najib: They lied to me.
4.53pm: Proceedings adjourn and will resume at 11am tomorrow.
Earlier reports:
Jan 7, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 67
Jan 6, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 66
Jan 6, Prosecution’s Application to Impeach Najib Dismissed, Judge Ruled No Contradictions Given
Dec 20, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 65
Dec 18, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 64
Dec 18, Najib’s Defence Like Infamous VK Lingam’s Looks Like Me, Sounds Like Me, but Not Me
Dec 12, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 63
Dec 10, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 62
Dec 10, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 61
Dec 9, RM500K Birthday Watch for Rosmah, RM3.3M Jewellery Gift for Ex-Qatar PM’s Wife
Dec 5, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 60
Dec 3, Najb’s SRC Trial: Day 59
Dec 3, Najib’s Day in Court
Aug 27, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 58
Aug 23, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 57
Aug 22, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 56
Aug 20, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 55
Aug 19, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 54
Aug 14, SRC Trial Postponed as Najib Down with Sore Eyes
Aug 13, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 52
Aug 9, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 51
Aug 7, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 50
Aug 6, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 49
Aug 5, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 48
Aug 1, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 47
July 31, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 46
July 29, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 45
July 25, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 44
July 24, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 43 Vacated
July 23, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 42
July 22, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 41
July 18, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 40
July 17, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 39
July 16, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 38
July 15, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 37
July 11, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 36
July 10, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 35
July 9, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 34
July 8, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 33
July 3, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 32
July 3, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 31
July 1, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 30
June 20, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 29
June 19, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 28
June 18, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 27
June 17, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 26
June 14, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 25
June 13, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 24
June 12, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 23
June 11, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 22
June 10, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 21
May 28, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 20
May 27, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 19
May 15, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 18
May 14, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 17
May 9, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 16
May 8, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 15
May 7, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 14
May 7, Najib Fails in Second Bid to Remove Sri Ram as 1MDB Lead Prosecutor
May 7, Najib Signed Guarantee Letter for RM2B KWAP Loan to SRC, KWAP Rules Breached
May 6, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 13
May 2, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 12
May 2, RM1M Golden Handshake in Final Month as PM for Najib
Apr 30, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 11
Apr 29, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 10
Apr 29, Court Throws Out Najib’s Application to Strike Out 7 SRC Charges, Trial to Go On
Apr 25, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Nine
Apr 24, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Eight
Apr 24, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Seven
Apr 22, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Six
Apr 18, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Five
Apr 17, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Four
Apr 16, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Three
Apr 15, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Two
Apr 3, Najib Trial: Day One