Claimed he had no knowledge of wrongdoing at 1MDB.
Najib Abdul Razak today contended that documentary evidence showed that the true masterminds behind embezzlement at 1MDB were Shahrol and other members of its management with fugitive Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) instead of him.
He pointed out that Shahrol defied the 1MDB board and was in cahoots with management and Low to embezzle US$700 million of funds meant for a joint venture with Petrosaudi International Limited (PSI).
“Is he (Shahrol) not lucky that I am the accused person? Because if I were not the former prime minister of Malaysia and finance minister, I truly believe the stand he would be occupying would not be the witness stand but the dock,” Najib testified in his defence during the RM2.27 billion 1MDB abuse of power and money laundering trial.
In 2009, US$700 million from US$1 billion of 1MDB funds for the joint venture was diverted to offshore entity Good Star Limited, which is linked to Low.
Prosecutors claimed that Low’s actions at 1MDB were on the blessing of Najib.
However, the accused claimed he had no knowledge of wrongdoing at 1MDB, and that the embezzling there was solely masterminded by Low and other members of the fund’s management.