1MDB trial: Ex-aide agrees Jho Low could have manipulated Najib
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s actions related to 1MDB could have been influenced by fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, a former aide to the ex-prime minister concurred in the High Court today.
Former special officer to Najib, Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazarruddin, said so when lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah asked him to clarify his previous testimony in which he described Low or Jho Low as a “master manipulator”.
Shafee asked if Amhari meant Low’s manipulation was involved when Najib was planning projects, to which the ex-aide said he simply meant that Low was adept at manipulating others.
The defence lawyer persisted with the line of questioning, however, seizing on Amhari’s testimony before that his direct supervisor, the late Datuk Azlin Alias, was a victim of Low’s manipulation.
“Just as you claim that Datuk Azlin was being manipulated, is there a possibility that your own prime minister was being manipulated by Jho Low?” Shafee asked.
Amhari then conceded that the scenario was possible.
Shafee also suggested to Amhari that there were “hidden” hands behind 1MDB who had planned to not reveal the full picture to Najib, which the latter stated that he was not aware.
Shafee then produces in court a news report by The Edge that was published on June 28, 2018, titled ‘‘Cover Story: How PetroSaudi executives plotted what to tell Najib’’.
Shafee pointed out that the article shows how PetroSaudi International (PSI) executives Tarek Obaid and Patrick Mahony along with Low had planned on what to tell Najib in their effort to hide the true nature of the joint venture between PSI and 1MDB.
Tarek and Mahoney are under scrutiny for their part in enabling the transfer of billions of ringgit from the 1MDB through their company.
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