KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak today revealed that his signature was forged on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) meeting minutes, the High Court heard today.
During his corruption trial involving the sovereign wealth fund, the former prime minister made this claim in response to a question from his lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, about identifying the document.
The senior lawyer was referring to a meeting cited by former 1MDB chief executive Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, who testified as a key prosecution witness in the trial.
"No, it's not my signature.
"I can confidently say it is not mine because I did not attend this meeting with him (Shahrol).
"Shahrol misled the board of directors (BOD) by claiming that he had a meeting with me and that I agreed to endorse the BOD's decision to proceed with the GDF Suez Investment.
"This is completely untrue," he said before presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
Shahrol, in his testimony, claimed that the former finance minister agreed to the proposal and instructed the management of 1MDB to analyse risks and conduct due diligence.
Najib maintained the same stance when his lawyer asked him to confirm his handwriting on several other documents containing notations allegedly made by him.
"My handwriting is entirely different.
"My standard practice when making a notation is to always include a date and my signature below it.
"I believe the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) intentionally avoided confronting me with the document while recording my statement because they were aware I would explain that I never had a meeting with Shahrol," he said.
Meanwhile, Najib cited a Quranic verse to former 1MDB director Tan Sri Ismee Ismail, accusing him of lying in his testimony that Najib had influenced the company's decision to allocate RM1.5 billion to its joint venture account with PetroSaudi International.
"Ismee testified that the 1MDB Board of Directors believed selling a 40 per cent stake in the joint venture company, in exchange for an annual profit of eight per cent over 11 years based on the value of the US$1.2 billion Murabaha Notes, was a sound decision.
"It is clear that Ismee and the BOD made the decision based on their evaluation and judgment, not due to any purported influence on my part.
"I'm deeply disappointed by Ismee's attempt to unfairly implicate me by suggesting that the BOD made the decision as they were influenced by what they believed I wanted.
"I never expected such a distortion of the truth from someone like Ismee, whom I have always regarded as a man of integrity.
"However, it is not for me to speculate why he has chosen to do so, but as Muslims, we are reminded in the Quran to 'speak the truth even if it is against yourself' (Surah An-Nisa, 4:1335)," he said.
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 before presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues.