PUTRAJAYA: Former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) investigating officer R. Rajagopal told the High Court here today that Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was identified as a suspect in Bukit Aman’s investigation into the sovereign wealth fund.
Rajagopal, the former head of Bukit Aman’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID), testified that this was because there was an inflow of money from 1MDB to Najib’s personal bank account.
“Initially, the former premier was not a suspect at the start of the investigation in 2015. It was still too early then as we have yet to record statements from many witnesses, which included members of 1MDB’s board of directors and management,” said the witness.
The 11th defence witness said this when questioned by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib at Najib’s trial for the alleged misappropriation of RM2.3 billion in 1MDB funds.
Rajagopal further clarified that Najib had not been charged with criminal breach of trust (CBT) offences involving 1MDB.
Ahmad Akram: When you took statements from the witnesses in this case, did any of them mention Najib’s name?
Rajagopal: Yes, several witnesses mentioned Najib’s name repeatedly.
Rajagopal recalled that the initial police report, which led to the CBT investigation, was lodged by former Umno leader Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan.
The report was based on media exposés about governance issues at 1MDB, which had caused the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund to accrue billions of ringgit in debt.
On Oct 30 last year, Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, ordered Najib to enter his defence, after ruling that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against him.
Najib, 71, faces 25 charges, including four counts of abusing his position to accept RM2.3 billion in bribes from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
The hearing continues on April 7.
