1MDB trial | Ex-Treasury sec-gen Irwan questions why he was charged

1MDB trial | Former Treasury secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah questioned why he was being charged in court despite trying to help 1MDB settle its mountain of debt.

During this afternoon’s RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption trial against former premier Najib Abdul Razak, the 42nd prosecution witness asked why he (Irwan) was hauled to face a separate criminal breach of trust (CBT) case involving RM6.6 billion linked to International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).

Irwan (above) told the Kuala Lumpur High Court that before he was charged with CBT in 2018, he was doing his best to restructure 1MDB and help Malaysia avoid a cross-default (a provision in a bond indenture or loan agreement that puts a borrower in default if the borrower defaults on another obligation).

“I informed him (Najib) of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recommendations, one is to restructure 1MDB, which I have been doing, second is to pay the debt so we do not cross-default.

“The previous government (led by Pakatan Harapan under Dr Mahathir Mohamad) charged me unnecessarily. Third is to charge Shahrol (Azral Ibrahim Halmi, 1MDB’s former CEO) and (Che) Lodin (Wok Kamaruddin, 1MDB’s former chairperson).

“I went to see Najib, I told him about the restructuring I am doing to make 1MDB viable because of the debt, as the only assets left were TRX (Tun Razak Exchange) and Bandar Malaysia.

“Regarding the repayment of the (1MDB) loan, the debt was (also) being paid by the predecessor. If you do not pay, there would be a cross-default.

“I was charged for paying the debt. Lim Guan Eng was also paying (as then finance minister during the Harapan administration between 2018 and 2020). I was also paying (the 1MDB debt), I do not understand the charge but that is another story,” Irwan testified before trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.

Najib kept quiet because he’s ‘nice’

The witness was responding to a question from deputy public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram during examination-in-chief regarding whether Irwan told Najib about Shahrol not being cooperative when the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc) sought further information from Shahrol.

1MDB is fully owned by MOF Inc. Najib was also then finance minister as well as chairperson of 1MDB’s board of advisers.

When Sri Ram asked him what was Najib’s response over the recommendation to charge Shahrol and Lodin, Irwan claimed that the then premier kept quiet as he is a “nice man”.

Previously, it was reported that the PAC recommended that Shahrol and several others linked to the 1MDB scandal be investigated by the authorities.

The 1MDB trial before Sequerah resumes on Wednesday.

On Oct 24, 2018, Najib and Irwan pleaded not guilty to six charges of CBT amounting to RM6.6 billion in government funds involving payments to IPIC. The case however is only set for trial next year.

In relation to the trial before Sequerah, Najib is facing four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion from 1MDB.

In regards to the four abuse of power charges, the former Pekan MP was alleged to have committed the offences at AmIslamic Bank Berhad’s Jalan Raja Chulan branch in Bukit Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur, between Feb 24, 2011, and Dec 19, 2014.

On the 21 money laundering counts, the former finance minister was purported to have committed the offences at the same bank between March 22, 2013, and Aug 30, 2013.

The prosecution contended that the wrongdoing at 1MDB was carried out by fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, and several others with Najib’s blessing.

However, the accused’s defence team claimed that Najib had no knowledge of the crime perpetrated at 1MDB and the embezzlement was solely masterminded by Low and other members of the fund’s management.

The BN advisory chairperson is serving a 12-year jail sentence after the Federal Court on Aug 23 dismissed his appeal against the RM42 million SRC International corruption case conviction. 

Initially a subsidiary of 1MDB, SRC later became fully owned by MOF Inc. Najib also used to be adviser emeritus to SRC.

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