KUALA LUMPUR: A key prosecution witness in Datuk Seri Najib Razak's money laundering trial involving 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds denied he was in court to provide incriminating evidence against the former prime minister to save his own skin.
Azmi Tahir, who was the former chief financial officer (CFO) of the sovereign wealth fund which has left the country neck deep in debt, was grilled about this during cross-examination conducted by Najib's lawyer Datuk Hariharan Tara Singh.
The senior counsel put Azmi under the hammer grilling him about how he managed 1MDB finances, including overseeing transfer of mind boggling amounts of between US$570 million to US$750 million out of 1MDB accounts.
However, Azmi kept repeating that while he was the CFO of the company, he could not be held solely accountable for everything that happened in 1MDB.
The 48-year old, who testified that he used to earn over RM60,000 a month as 1MDB CFO - with up to six month bonuses, however agreed that he was jointly responsible to ensure everything was properly checked before signing off on the documents.
Touching on how he had escaped prosecution over the 1MDB fallout, Hariharan grilled Azmi about his seeming invisibility from prosecution despite all the financial woes inflicted on 1MDB during his watch.
Azmi agreed with Hariharan that other former employees, including his deputy Terence Geh Choh Heng, financier Low Taek Jho @ Jho Low, 1MDB legal counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan and Casey Tang Keng Chee (executive director of business development) had been charged in absentia.
Hariharan: Your deputy, Terence Geh, who was under your direct supervision was charged with misappropriation of 1MDB property which was under his dominion.
Azmi: Yes, I read about it.
Hariharan: As CFO you were also having dominion of 1MDB property but you were not charged.
Azmi: Not entirely. I had superiors to report to. Jho Low played a role too. I was acting under instructions.
Hariharan: There were never any criminal charges filed against you.
Azmi: Until now no. I don't know why.
Azmi, who was 1MDB CFO from 2012 to 2017, was then questioned about a lawsuit which had been filed by 1MDB to recover US$8 billion in losses from him and other former office bearers.
He acknowledged reading about the suit in the media but pointed out that he had never been served with a copy of the lawsuit.
Hariharan: There were a lot of serious allegations in the original suit against you. You were accused of dishonestly assisting others to misappropriate 1MDB property, committing fraudulent misrepresentation and all that.
Azmi: That was the allegation, which I disagree. That was their position at that time.
Hariharan: Your name was subsequently removed from the lawsuit. This was done so that you would give incriminating evidence against Najib.
Azmi: I disagree.
It was previously reported that 1MDB and its four subsidiaries had dropped seven of the 15 defendants in their US$8 billion lawsuit against former office bearers of the companies.
Those dropped from the suit included Azmi, 1MDB's former directors Tan Sri Che Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, Tan Sri Ismee Ismail, Tan Sri Ong Gim Huat and Ashvin Jethanand Valiram, former CEOs Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman.
The remaining defendants include Najib, as well as Terence Geh, Jasmine Loo, Casey Tang Keng Chee, Vincent Beng Huat Koh, Radhi Mohamad (former chief financial officer and subsequently chief operating officer), Kelvin Tan Kay Jin (director of investments) and Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil (former CEO).
The trial before High Court Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues