Day 68: Najib - They lied to me about my bank accounts, says Najib

LIVE | The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak involving the alleged misappropriation of funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd enters day 68 today at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• They lied to me about my bank accounts, says Najib
• Najib: I don't know why Jho Low deposited money into my accounts
• No evidence but Jho Low kept bank statements from me: Najib
• Maybe Jho Low deposited the money into my accounts - Najib
• Najib claims he didn't use own money to regularise overdrawn accounts
• Najib denies diverting millions when 'Arab money' ran out
• Najib denies he is shifting the blame to Jho Low
• I assumed late Saudi ruler donated the billions in my accounts - Najib
• Najib raises voice, denies SRC being 'prime minister's company'
• Najib: I assumed funds in accounts came from legitimate sources
• I never saw my bank statements from 2011 to 2015, says Najib
• 'He did not tell me about the RM42m'
• Najib admits he didn't lose any money due to Jho Low's 'manipulations'

Thank you for following Malaysiakini's live report

5.35pm - Thank you for following our live report today.

Reporting by Hidir Reduan Abdul Rashid and Hariz Mohd. Photographs by Azneal Ishak. Social media updates by Ewe Linq Yenn.

If you like what we do, support independent media by joining our subscription programme for as low as RM0.55 a day. Details here.

Proceedings to adjourn for today and resume at 11am tomorrow.

4.53pm - This is because Najib Abdul Razak's defence team needs to attend two separate court matters earlier tomorrow before they are available for the SRC International trial.

The first matter is the mention of Najib's 1MDB final audit report tampering case before High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan.

This is followed by an application before High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah on Umno Supreme Council member Lokman Noor Adam's bid to set aside the leave granted for the Attorney-General's Chambers to commence committal proceedings against him (Lokman).

The contempt bid is over Lokman's alleged threat to a key witness in Najib's ongoing RM2.28 billion 1MDB case.

They lied to me about my bank accounts, says Najib

4.46pm - Najib Abdul Razak seems to accuse Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, Jho Low and Azlin Alias of lying about the state of his (Najib's) bank accounts.

The former finance minister says this during cross-examination by DPP V Sithambaram.

Nik Faisal was not only a former SRC International CEO but also the person authorised by Najib to manage his AmBank accounts.

Low is a key figure in the sprawling 1MDB scandal who continues to evade the authorities.

Azlin was Najib's late principal private secretary.

Sithambaram is asking the accused 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.

Najib: I don't know why Jho Low deposited money into my accounts

4.40pm: Former premier Najib Abdul Razak tells the court that he does not know why the 1MDB-linked businessperson Low Taek Jho would deposit millions of ringgit into his bank accounts.

Najib also declines to speculate on the possible reasons for Low (below), better known as Jho Low, for doing so.

He says this during questioning by DPP V 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.

Court resumes after break

4.17pm - Proceedings resume after break

4pm - Proceedings adjourn for a short break

No evidence but Jho Low kept bank statements from me: Najib

3.40pm - Najib Abdul Razak testifies during cross-examination that despite no evidence being presented in court, he believes fugitive businessperson Jho 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 prime minister replies this is what he believes.

Najib adds that Low did not want him to know how the bank accounts were being managed.

Maybe Jho Low deposited the money into my accounts - Najib

3.15pm - Najib Abdul Razak 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 his late chief private secretary Azlin Alias or former SRC CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil may have communicated with Low.

Proceedings resume after lunch

2.43pm - The SRC International trial resumes after lunch break

Najib claims he didn't use own money to regularise overdrawn accounts

12.55pm - Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak denies using his own funds to regularise his overdrawn bank accounts so that he could issue cheques.

The accused is answering a question from DPP V Sithambaram about a letter from former SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil (photo) 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 and will resume at 2.30pm this afternoon.

Najib denies diverting millions when 'Arab money' ran out

12.18pm - During cross-examination from DPP V Sinthambaram, former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak denies that he diverted millions of ringgit into his personal accounts when he ran out of "Arab money" he previously received.

Sithambaram: You diverted money into your accounts when the "Arab money" ran out?

Najib: Disagree.

The current trial alleged that the accused received RM42 million from SRC International into his personal accounts from late 2014 to early 2015.

Najib had also claimed that he received an earlier donation from the Saudi royal family amounting to RM2.6 billion, among others.

Najib denies he is shifting the blame to Jho Low

12.05pm - Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak disagrees with a suggestion from the prosecution that he is only shifting the blame to Jho Low to avoid legal consequences.

He says this when being questioned by DPP V Sithambaram over his bank accounts, which Najib claimed had been manipulated by the fugitive businessperson.

Sithambaram: You are just shifting the blame to Low as much as possible to escape the consequences of these charges.

Najib: No, I disagree.

Proceedings resume after a short break

12pm - Proceedings resume after a short break

11.31am - Court adjourns for a short break.

I assumed late Saudi ruler donated the billions in my accounts - Najib

11.05am - Najib Abdul Razak testifies that he assumed the billions of ringgit that went into his accounts were from the late Saudi ruler, King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

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.

Najib raises voice, denies SRC being 'prime minister's company'

11am - Najib Abdul Razak raises his voice in disagreement over the allegation that SRC International was "syarikat perdana menteri" (prime minister's company).

Sithambaram is asking Najib about a previous testimony by Finance Ministry official Afidah Azwa Abdul Aziz (photo) that she was told by the ministry's secretary Maliami Hamad that SRC International was the prime minister's company.

Earlier, the DPP was also asking Najib whether SRC International 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.

Najib: I assumed funds in accounts came from legitimate sources

10.45am - The court hears from Najib Abdul Razak that he never questioned his then principal private secretary Azlin Alias about the source of funds in his bank accounts.

The former prime minister says this under cross-examination from DPP V Sithambaram about the millions of ringgit deposited into the former's 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.

I never saw my bank statements from 2011 to 2015, says Najib

10.36am - Najib Abdul Razak testifies that he was never shown his bank account balance from 2011 to 2015.

During cross-examination by DPP V Sithambaram, the former prime minister says that his late principal private secretary Azlin Alias 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.

'He did not tell me about the RM42m'

10.30am - Najib Abdul Razak 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.

The accused also agrees that Azlin (photo) 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.

Najib admits he didn't lose any money due to Jho Low's 'manipulations'

10.15am - Proceedings begin with DPP V Sithambaram questioning the accused, former premier Najib Abdul Razak, on his defence that he was a victim of Jho Low's manipulation.

Najib agrees that he is accusing Low of having manipulated his bank accounts and also admits that he did not lose any money from the alleged manipulation.

He agrees to another suggestion by Sithambaram that he had actually benefited from the millions of ringgit that were deposited by Low into his accounts in 2014 and 2015.

Najib, however, stresses that he had never asked for the money to be deposited to him.

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.

Proceedings begin

10.15am - Najib enters the witness stand as proceedings begin.

9.58am - Najib Abdul Razak enters the Kuala Lumpur High Court and takes a seat at the front row of the public gallery and wait for proceedings to begin.

Also seen in court is Attorney-General Tommy Thomas and DPPs, as well as members of the former prime minister's defence team.

Today marks the seventh day the prosecution is cross-examining former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak in his RM42 million SRC International trial.

DPP V Sithambaram will resume questioning the former finance minister and advisor emeritus of SRC International when hearing resumes before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.

However, the 68th day of hearing may begin a bit later than 9am due to Najib and his defence team attending a separate court matter earlier in the morning.

The matter in question is the case mention of Najib’s ongoing RM2.28 billion 1MDB case, where the setting of further trial dates is subject to the progress of his RM42 million SRC International trial.

Yesterday, Najib and Sithambaram verbally sparred over whether the accused’s annotation “setuju” (agree) on documents — such as for the RM4 billion loans from Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) to SRC International — hindered civil servants and department heads from disagreeing with him (Najib).

The court also heard that despite claiming that he was surprised at SRC International sending billions of ringgit abroad for purported investment, Najib did not feel the need to inquire on the matter. 

Jho Low only giving excuses not to return to M'sia: Shafee

Najib's lawyer: Jho Low is the central figure, not mere introducer

Najib's 'conflicting testimony' over signature leads to impeachment move

I'm a media target as I'm not a politician, Jho Low claims