Najib Admits He Had No Plan To Bring Back Src S Rm3 6 Bil Frozen In Switzerland

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Najib Razak says then finance minister II Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah had not made a formal request to retrieve SRC International funds frozen in Switzerland..KUALA LUMPUR: Putrajaya could have brought back the RM3.6 billion of SRC International Sdn Bhd’s funds frozen at a bank in Switzerland on a government-to-government basis, the High Court heard today
However, former prime minister Najib Razak did not have a proper plan to do so
Najib also admitted he did not allow his former second finance minister, Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, to meet Swiss authorities as Husni too did not have a plan
“He did not put a formal application to the Cabinet or had a plan to bring back the money,” he said when cross-examined by ad hoc prosecutor V Sithambaram
This came about when Sithambaram asked Najib why he had prevented Husni from leading a delegation to Switzerland to resolve the SRC funds that were frozen in bank accounts there
The money was part of the RM4 billion loan to SRC from the Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP). It was frozen by Swiss authorities on suspicion of being laundered funds
Questioned further by Sithambaram, Najib, who was also the finance minister then, said he too had no plans to retrieve the money
Sithambaram: Since SRC was your baby, did you have any plan to bring back the money
Najib: No
Sithambaram: Could the funds have been brought back on a government-to- government basis
Najib: Yes
Sithambaram: I put it to you that you refused to allow Husni to go to Switzerland because you thought the SRC board could resolve it
Najib: I agree
Sithambaram: The fact that you stopped Husni from getting the money under a government-to-government initiative was because you never wanted the money back
Najib: I disagree
Sithambaram told the court that Najib did nothing from 2013 to 2015 until Husni had asked the prime minister to lead a delegation to resolve the issue
Najib repeatedly said Husni had not made a formal request or told him of his plans to retrieve the funds
Sithambaram: If a minister makes a request to go to Switzerland to get the funds back, what plan would you expect
Najib: I was expecting him to tell me in detail how he was going to do it. He needed to submit a proper plan
Najib said a proper plan had to be submitted to the Cabinet for approval first before a minister was allowed to go abroad
Husni, a prosecution witness, had said Najib displayed blatant autocratic leadership in the handling of SRC and 1MDB
He had said Najib had also left him in the dark about SRC, once a subsidiary of 1MDB, which was formed in 2011
All government-linked companies under the purview of Finance Ministry Incorporated came under the supervision of Husni then
Husni said he wanted to meet the Swiss authorities to help unfreeze the money but was advised against it by Najib
“I was prepared to convince the Swiss authorities that it was KWAP money. However, Najib did not agree to this,” he said
Najib is accused of abusing his power as prime minister by giving government guarantees on SRC International’s RM4 billion loan from KWAP
He is also charged with three counts of money laundering and three counts of criminal breach of trust in the transfer of RM42 million to his accounts from the former 1MDB unit
The hearing before judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali continues. - FMT

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