PUTRAJAYA: The defence team for Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told the High Court that former 1Malaysia Development Berhad chief executive officer Datuk Sharol Azral Ibrahim Halmi effortlessly switched between two masks in his testimony.
Najib’s counsel Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin submitted that these masks represented Sharol Azral’s alleged roles as both the main suspect in Jho Low’s criminal scheme and the supposedly unaware 1MDB director.
The defence highlighted several significant admissions from Sharol Azral’s cross-examination testimony about his involvement with the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund Aabar Investments PJSC.
Sharol Azral admitted he was informed in advance by Jho Low that a proposal letter would come from Aabar but never personally contacted the designated liaison Tam Cheok Wing.
He further acknowledged delegating the task to unspecified individuals from either the Real Estate Team or Investment Team without ever identifying who Tam Cheok Wing was.
The former CEO also confirmed he never had direct contact with Mohammed Badawy Al-Husseiny and left Jho Low to coordinate with Aabar as the main orchestrator.
Sharol Azral stated he was not concerned that Jho Low might have drafted the letter himself, asserting that it did not really matter to him.
Based on these admissions, the defence argued it would be delusional to dismiss the notion that Sharol Azral was in lockstep with Jho Low.
The lawyer cited unauthorised transfers of billions to Jho Low, secret correspondence, and defiance of board instructions as reasons to doubt Sharol Azral’s testimony.
Today marked the fifth day of oral submissions before Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah in Najib’s case involving 25 charges.
Najib faces four charges of using his position to obtain RM2.3 billion in 1MDB funds as gratification between February 2011 and December 2014.
The former prime minister also faces 21 counts of money laundering allegedly committed between March and August 2013.
Najib is currently serving a jail term in Kajang Prison for the misappropriation of RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd.
The hearing continues tomorrow. – Bernama
