Najib Razak is standing trial on 25 counts of money laundering and abuse of power over alleged 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014. (Bernama pic)
R Rajagopal says Najib Razak was named a suspect after Bukit Aman found a money trail of 1MDB funds entering the former prime minister’s accounts.
PUTRAJAYA:
A former 1MDB investigating officer told the High Court in Najib Razak’s trial today the former prime minister was identified as a suspect in Bukit Aman’s probe into the sovereign fund’s finances.
R Rajagopal, formerly of the Bukit Aman commercial crime investigation department, said Najib became a suspect after police discovered a money trail of 1MDB funds entering his bank accounts.
He said Bukit Aman had no leads on potential suspects at the time he took over the investigation in 2015.
“(In the initial stage of the investigation) we took a statement from the complainant (Khairuddin Abu Hassan) and obtained some documents.
“A raid (at 1MDB’s office) was carried out in July 2015,” Rajagopal told the court.
Under cross-examination by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib, he said he was aware that 1MDB had become a hot topic in the country and overseas when he took over the investigation.
Akram: Were there also allegations that the former prime minister (Najib) was implicated?
Rajagopal: Yes.
He also told the court a task force consisting of representatives from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the police, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Attorney-General’s Chambers was set up in 2015 to investigate allegations made against 1MDB.
“The task force was giving us directions on our investigation,” he said.
He said he attended a task force meeting held on July 4 that year, representing Bukit Aman.
Rajagopal also stood by his testimony in Najib’s previous SRC International trial.
He had previously testified that then MACC chief Abu Kassim Mohamed had suggested that then attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail press charges against Najib over RM42 million in SRC International funds deposited into the then prime minister’s accounts.
Akram: Do you remember that (Gani’s successor) Tan Sri Apandi (Ali) ordered the investigation papers (against Najib) to be closed in 2016?
Rajagopal: This does not apply to the police’s investigation. It was only for MACC’s cases.
Terengganu ruler stopped bonds issue, court told
The court also heard that Rajagopal took statements from former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and several others in 2016. Shahrol was a prosecution witness in the case.
He said Shahrol told Bukit Aman that Terengganu ruler Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin had ordered the issuance of Islamic medium-term notes to be suspended.
The bonds were used to secure a RM5 billion loan for the then state sovereign fund Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA).
“Shahrol told us that he called Jho Low (Low Taek Jho) after meeting Sultan Mizan, but Jho Low asked him to inform the prime minister because the federal government guaranteed the bonds,” he said.
“Shahrol and (then director) Ismee (Ismail) went to meet Datuk Seri (Najib) at his Langgak Duta house to talk about it.”
He said Shahrol had informed him that Najib had instructed that the issuance of Islamic medium-term notes proceed and said Najib “will talk to Tuanku”.
Najib is standing trial on 25 counts of money laundering and abuse of power over alleged 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.
The hearing before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues on April 7.
2025-03-26T16:00:00Z
Source Link: freemalaysiatoday