KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court was told today that the Board of Directors of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) had decided to acquire two energy companies before the then Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, gave his approval.
Defence lawyer Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin argued at the close of the prosecution's case that this could be seen through the 1MDB Minutes of Representation (MR) and Special Shareholder Resolution (SSR).
He said that the idea to acquire the Independent Power Producer (IPP) Tanjong Energy Holdings Sdn Bhd (TEHSB) had surfaced three months before Najib signed off on approving the acquisition.
He added that Najib had only given his approval to acquire Mastika Lagenda Sdn Bhd 13 days after the Board of Directors had decided on the acquisition.
"Therefore, based on the witness testimony, the prosecution has failed to prove that at the time the approval was given, Najib had the intention to receive bribes from Blackstone Asia Real Estate Partners," he said.
Blackstone Asia is said to be a company controlled by controversial businessman and fugitive Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, through his associate Tan Kim Loong, also known as Eric Tan.
According to Wan Azwan Aiman, no statement was recorded from Tan or Jho Low, and prosecution witnesses never stated that 1MDB's actions were a bribe for Najib.
The prosecution witnesses included former SRC International Sdn Bhd director, Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi; former 1MDB CEO, Mohd Hazem Abd Rahman; and the company's former lawyer, Jasmine Loo Ai Swan.
He noted that the prosecution witnesses consistently proved that Najib was not responsible for the alleged misconduct.
The lawyer presented these arguments concerning the second charge against Najib, in which he is accused of using his position as Finance Minister to obtain a bribe of nearly RM90.9 million by approving 1MDB's subsidiary to bid for the acquisition of TEHSB at a bid price of RM10.6 billion.
This also involved the acquisition of Mastika Lagenda's equity at an aggregate purchase price of up to RM2.75 billion, in which Najib had a direct interest.
The charge is under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act, which provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years or a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
The hearing before Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah will continue tomorrow.