KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak as the former prime minister, finance minister and 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) board of advisor chairman failed to address the misappropriation of funds during his time in power, the High Court heard today.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) senior officer Nur Aida Arifin said no legal action has been taken against the fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low even though 1MDB funds have been misappropriated since 2009, which he should have been made accountable for.
"No complaints were made by Najib or the management of 1MDB to any authorities to investigate this misconduct.
"Low was not officially appointed to any position within the government or 1MDB, but he played an active role in orchestrating the operations of the company.
"The relationship between Najib and Low is not merely confined to official matters regarding 1MDB as the latter also participated in several vacations with Najib's family.
"Najib never directed any of 1MDB's management to distance themselves from Low," she said.
She said this when testifying as the key prosecution witness in Najib's corruption trial for misappropriating millions of funds belonging to 1MDB.
Nur Aida, who was the investigating officer in the case said no immediate actions were taken to rectify the situation when no profit was gained for 1MDB and the country.
"The 1MDB investment fund was set up with a clear purpose, namely to invest and develop long term projects with the strategic and economic interest of the country's future success.
"However, every investment failed and had caused a loss for 1MDB and the country.
"According to the former Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Husni Hanadzlah, he was once directed by Najib not to be involved and interfere in any affairs and decisions of 1MDB," she said.
Nur Aida said Najib never declared to the Cabinet the deposit of RM3.6 billion into his private bank accounts which she believed originated from the sovereign wealth fund.
"The funds that he (Najib) received in his accounts– AmPrivate Banking-MR and AmPrivate Banking-1MY— came from 1MDB.
"Former 1MDB chief investment officer Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil was given the mandate to manage Najib's account while Low dealt with Joanna Yu who was the relationship manager at AmBank for Najib's account.
"In the period when both accounts were active, Najib never inquired with Yu or AmBank regarding the inflow of money into his accounts.
"He (Najib) also never confirmed or questioned AmBank about the source of the funds," he said.
Nur Aida added that according to former Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Najib in July 2015 requested her to issue a statement asserting that there were no wrongdoings related to the funds entering his account.
However, she said Zeti refused to comply with Najib's request.
Najib is standing trial on 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering over alleged 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.
The hearing before presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues on Jan 29.
