Najib 1mdb Trial Day 27 1mdb Board Approved Us 1 5b Loan To Petrosaudi In 2010

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The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak involving the alleged abuse of power and money laundering of 1MDB funds enters its 27th day today at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur
Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings
Summary of Najib’s 1MDB ‘donation’ caseNajib is facing 25 charges of receiving RM2.28 billion, which originated from 1MDB through Tanore Finance Corp, a company owned by Eric Tan, a close associate of fugitive businessperson Jho Low
21 money laundering charges4 abuse of power chargesClick to view information on judge, prosecution and defence teamKEY HIGHLIGHTS1MDB board approved US$1.5b loan to PetroSaudi (Cayman) in 2010PetroSaudi directors stonewalled attempts to check on 1MDB fundsTarek shares US$85m Good Star payment with another PetroSaudi directorUS$85m paid to PetroSaudi director Tarek Obaid as commissionGood Star sent Tarek Obaid US$85m days after it received 1MDB moniesThank you for following Malaysiakini's live report1.05pm - Thank you for following our live report today
Court adjourns early as judge has a matter to attend1pm - Najib Abdul Razak's RM2.28 billion 1MDB trial adjourns earlier today as High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah has a matter to attend to this afternoon
Before Sequerah allows proceedings to adjourn today, the former prime minister's lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah informs the court that tomorrow he has a Federal Court appeal to attend
The judge then also allows Shafee's application for proceedings tomorrow to begin at 2.30pm instead of 9.30am
1MDB board approved US$1.5b loan to PetroSaudi (Cayman) in 201012.30pm - In March 2010, 1MDB's board of directors agreed to a US$1.5 billion loan to PetroSaudi Holdings (Cayman) Ltd (PSI Cayman), which used to be the sovereign wealth fund's partner in a joint venture, the court hears
This was despite PSI Cayman not being able to pay US$1.2 billion to 1MDB as reimbursement when they parted ways several months earlier
Former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi testifies that the company's board of directors had approved to lend PSI Cayman the US$1.5 billion through a directors' circular resolution dated March 22, 2010
Asked by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (above) if this made sense to him then, the witness says that he did not question much at the point in time as he saw the joint-venture matters as being part of government-to-government deals
"Now, with everything that has happened, it doesn't make sense," says Shahrol
PetroSaudi directors stonewalled attempts to check on 1MDB funds12.08pm - PetroSaudi International's directors Tarek Obaid and Patrick Mahoney stonewalled former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi's attempt to check if the entire US$1 billion of funds went into the 1MDB-Petrosaudi's joint venture, the High Court hears
The ninth witness says this during cross-examination by lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah
Shafee: Were you able to inspect if the money went into either PSI (PetroSaudi International) or the (1MDB-PetroSaudi) joint-venture company
Shahrol: No. We tried to get to the account for the 1MDB joint-venture company but we were unable to do so. We were getting stonewalled by Patrick Mahoney and (Tarek) Obaid
Shafee: When was this stonewalling
Shahrol: Between end-2009 and early 2010, before the Murabaha deal
Shafee: You were a (1MDB) director. Were you physically prevented
Shahrol: We submitted email requests but a lot of excuses were given, and the information not provided. I tried to go through Jho (Low) which resulted in the proposal of the Murabaha notes
'Tarek shared US$85m Good Star payment with another PetroSaudi director'12pm - The court hears that PetroSaudi co-founder Tarek Obaid had shared a portion of the US$85 million he received from Jho Low's Good Star Ltd with an associate
Based on banking documents tendered in court, Tarek had transferred US$33 million to a bank account belonging to PetroSaudi director Patrick Mahoney on Oct 20, 2009
This was about two weeks after Tarek received US$85 million from Good Star, which earlier received US$700 million from 1MDB
Former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi agrees with lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah that this showed that Tarek was splitting the money he received from Good Star with Mahoney
Shafee: So he (Tarek) received US$85 million, then he shared with Patrick US$33 million
Shahrol: Yes
Shafee: Christmas came a bit early that year
The witness testifies that he, however, did not know anything about the payment that Tarek and Mahoney received
US$85m paid to PetroSaudi director as commission11.47pm - PetroSaudi International director Tarek Obaid (below) was paid US$85 million out of the US$700 million allegedly diverted from the 1MDB-PetroSaudi joint venture as commission for the said deal, former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi testifies
He says this when shown a JP Morgan bank statement by Najib Abdul Razak's lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah during cross-examination today
Shafee (Reading out from the bank statement): Tarek Obaid was paid US$85 million out of US$700 million as commission received by a client for a joint-venture deal
Shahrol: Yes. The JV is the 1MDB-Petrosaudi deal
Shafee: Our money of US$700 million went there, US$85 million to Tarek Obaid to swipe as purported commission
Shahrol: Yes
Shafee: Is this a bona fide commission or outright stealing
Shahrol: There's not enough information to tell
Shahrol agrees with the defence counsel that the US$85 million constitutes more than 10 percent of the US$700 million and that it is quite high for a commission for the deal
The witness also agrees with Shafee that he was not informed by Tarek at the time about this payment, which may have been a conflict of interest on Tarek's behalf
Good Star sent Tarek US$85m days after it received 1MDB monies11.39am - The hearing starts with lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah showing to the court a bank account statement that belonged to Good Star Ltd, a company that belonged to Jho Low
According to Shafee's cross-examination of former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Halmi, the RBS Coutts bank statement showed Good Star had zero balance on June 12, 2009, before it was credited with US$700 million on Sept 30, 2009
It had been established earlier in the trial that Sept 30, 2009, was the date when 1MDB made a US$700 million payment to an RBS Coutts account, which was supposedly meant for PetroSaudi
Shahrol is then shown a bank statement that belonged to Tarek Obaid's JP Morgan account, which showed that the PetroSaudi International co-founder received US$85 million from Good Star
This transfer from Good Star to Tarek occurred on Oct 5, 2009, which was five days after Good Star received the 1MDB monies
Proceedings begin as Najib enters the dock11.26am - Najib Abdul Razak enters the dock as proceedings begin
11.12am - Najib Abdul Razak's lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah enters the High Court after having attended an earlier Federal Court matter at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya
10.55am - Accused Najib Abdul Razak enters the High Court and takes a seat at the front row of the public gallery to await proceedings to begin
Also in court is the former prime minister's defence team, except his lead lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who has an earlier scheduled Federal Court matter to attend to this morning
Also present is lead DPP Gopal Sri Ram and other DPPs
The 27th day of Najib Abdul Razak's RM2.28 billion 1MDB trial will start at 11am today rather than the usual 9.30am
This is because the former prime minister's lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah has to attend to a separate matter before the Federal Court in Putrajaya earlier this morning
Yesterday, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah allowed Shafee's application for today's trial to start at 11am so that the veteran legal practitioner could attend to the apex court matter first
When the 1MDB trial resumes today, Shafee is expected to continue cross-examination of former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi
During yesterday's trial, Shafee described fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho, who is a central figure at the heart of the 1MDB scandal, as a fox tasked with safeguarding the chicken
Among testimonies heard by the court yesterday was that Shahrol admitted that he would have resigned as then 1MDB CEO if he had realised about the lies told to him by Low and the sovereign wealth fund's then business development executive director, Casey Tang.  - Mkini

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