KUALA LUMPUR: The former general counsel of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) today insisted that she did not make any deal with the prosecution to give evidence against former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
Jasmine Loo, 50, also disagreed with a suggestion by Najibs’s lawyer, Tania Scivetti, that she had agreed to testify in favour of the prosecution so her court cases would not be pursued.
In 2018, Loo was charged in absentia under Section 179 of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 for commissioning and abetment to misappropriate US$2.7 billion from three 1MDB bonds underwritten by Goldman Sachs.
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“At that time, when those charges were filed against me, I was not called by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) to respond. My statement has not been recorded.
“However, since I returned to Malaysia, I have responded to the various authorities regarding the charges, which includes the SC,” she said.
To another question by Scivetti whether the charges against her had been officially withdrawn, Loo said, “No, I am not saying that”.
Loo was also accused of allegedly laundering a total of US$5.99mil, being the proceeds of unlawful activity, received into the account of River Dee International SA (BVI) in Falcon Private Bank AG in Zurich.
The offence under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 and punishable under Section 4(1) of the same Act, carries upon conviction a fine not exceeding RM5mil or imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both.
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Loo had been on the run from 2018 up until her return to Malaysia in July 2023, where she was immediately arrested and questioned by the police before being handed to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
At the end of today’s proceedings, the lawyer also concluded that Najib is alleged to be the mastermind of the 1MDB scam but was not involved in opening any of the various offshore accounts linked to 1MDB.
Najib, 70, faces four charges of using his position (as prime minister) to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
The trial before Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues tomorrow.
