Shafee accuses Bank Negara analyst of being in cahoots with MACC

1MDB TRIAL | Lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and a Bank Negara Malaysia analyst engaged in a war of words over whether the latter was in cahoots by MACC to blame Najib Abdul Razak in the RM2.27 billion 1MDB corruption case.

The former prime minister’s lead defence counsel turned up the heat in the court when he accused 47th prosecution witness Adam Ariff Mohd Roslan of colluding with the anti-graft agency to fix up the accused.

Shafee: I put it to you that in the course of doing it (1MDB monetary trail), you got too close to MACC. Were you not put in office (seconded from Bank Negara) with MACC?

Adam: From 2018 until now.

Shafee: You became MACC, your mentality is MACC, you are not independent.

Adam: I disagree.

The verbal fracas arose during cross-examination when Shafee touched on the issue of Adam’s lengthy and detailed testimony on the inflow of RM2.27 billion of 1MDB funds into Najib’s bank account between 2011 and 2014.

As Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah looked on, the lawyer was asking Adam about the method of analysis employed to track the convoluted international monetary trail that allegedly showed billions of funds diverted from 1MDB to Najib’s Malaysian bank account.

The court heated up when Adam said he did not have bank statements of a Riyadh-based bank account that allegedly formed part of this monetary trail.

Shafee appeared dissatisfied when Adam told the trial court that the witness need not have access to the Riyadh bank statements (as the witness had traced the full money trail from documentation from other entities allegedly forming part of the monetary route).

Money trail

In previous trial proceedings, Adam testified that he started at Bank Negara as an intern at the Financial Intelligence and Enforcement Department in 2017 and that at the end of the internship, he was absorbed as an associate analyst in the same year.

In June 2018, he was seconded to the 1MDB Task Force at MACC as an analyst, and in 2019, he was upgraded to an analyst at the central bank and later promoted to a managerial role last year.

Later today, the temperature calmed down a bit when Shafee’s question touched on whether Adam had come across any documentation showing Najib had given the green light for the money trail, to which the witness conceded he did not.

Adam also agreed with Shafee that it is not the witness’ job to conclude Najib’s guilt or innocence and that this role is left to the criminal court.

The trial before Sequerah resumes on Friday next week. Deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar led the prosecution.

Najib is on trial over four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.27 billion from 1MDB, a sovereign wealth fund fully owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc).

For the four abuse of power charges, the former Pekan MP is alleged to have committed the offences at AmIslamic Bank Bhd’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 accused is purported to have committed the offences at the same bank between March 22, 2013, and Aug 30, 2013.

1MDB documentary to premiere on Netflix next month

1MDB lawsuit: Arul Kanda seeks to counterclaim nearly RM57m

Lawyer denies directing Sirul’s video exonerating Najib

1MDB trial: Defence grills cop for interrogating Najib after being charged

1MDB investigator says funds in Najib's account used for politics, CSR