KUALA LUMPUR: There were tense moments in the High Court today when Datuk Seri Najib Razak's defence counsel locked horns with former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) general counsel, Jasmine Loo Ai Swan.
Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and Loo engaged in a war of words when the former accused the latter of attempting to defend herself and shift the blame onto Najib for the financial scandal, which has garnered global attention for its revelations of colossal corruption.
Shafee also queried the former lawyer about whether she had engaged in any dealings with the prosecution or the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to testify against the former prime minister, which Loo denied.
Shafee: You seemed to not only defend yourself but projecting a lot of 'missiles' on (towards) my client.
Loo: I do not agree.
Shafee: Have you made a deal with the MACC or the prosecution?
Loo: No.
In 2018, fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, alongside four others linked to the scandal — Loo, Terence Geh, Casey Tang Keng Chee and Eric Tan Kim Loong — were charged in absentia at the Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur magistrate courts over money-laundering cases linked to the 1MDB scandal.
Loo was charged with two counts of laundering more than US$6 million received in a Swiss account she controlled on Dec 6, 2012 and July 1, 2014.
This is believed to be a portion of the funds diverted from the first two 1MDB bond offerings underwritten by Goldman Sachs.
However, Loo stated that she was unaware of the latest developments in the case as she had delegated it to her lawyers.
Shafee then redirected his line of questioning towards Low by inquiring why Loo, who was a lawyer, placed her trust in a man whom he deems to be a 'crook of the highest order'.
Loo emphasised that she had never considered the possibility that Jho Low was a fraud attempting to syphon billions of ringgit from 1MDB funds.
The 50-year-old witness said that the rogue financier had been earning millions prior to his association with 1MDB, citing his ownership of various businesses and dealings with companies from Arab countries.
Shafee: You accepted the word from Low... now you know he is a conman and a crook of the highest order.
Loo: In hindsight, perhaps. But I do not know whether some of the things he said were true.
Shafee: Is there any character of Low in the context of this trial that has redemptive value?
Loo: Perhaps not. But we cannot generalise his character that way.
Shafee: Why not? My client's character was generalised and his liberty is at stake. He (Low) is not. He could be on a beach somewhere.
Najib, 70, is facing four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
The trial continues.
