Datuk Seri Naijb Razak is pictured at the Kuala Lumpur High Court April 21, 2022. – Picture by Firdaus Latif
KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 – Low Taek Jho – better known as Jho Low – was the “hidden hand” in 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the government-owned company’s former chief financial officer Azmi Tahir said today.
Azmi said this while explaining why the 1MDB management took instructions from Low over 1MDB matters.
Testifying as the 12th prosecution witness in former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s trial over the misappropriation of more than RM2 billion of 1MDB funds, Azmi confirmed he believed that instructions from Low were from Najib and also affirmed that he believed Low to be the representative of Najib.
Najib’s lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah then asked if Azmi had ever checked with 1MDB’s board of directors whether the 1MDB management can act on Low’s instructions.
Shafee: Did you raise this in board meeting, can the board give me direction whether the management can act on directions of Jho Low?
Azmi: I think I mentioned before, not long after Hazem came in, he got me to see Tan Sri Ismee to ask, so the response by Tan Sri Ismee, in all companies there are hidden hands, in Tabung Haji there are several, in 1MDB it is this person.
Azmi was referring to former 1MDB CEO Mohd Hazem Abd Rahman, and to former 1MDB director Tan Sri Ismee Ismail. Ismee was also the CEO of Malaysia’s Muslims pilgrimage fund board Lembaga Tabung Haji from 2006 to 2016.
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