Stay tuned for a new offer coming to you soon. Subscribe Log InKUALA LUMPUR: Former 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) chief executive officer told the High Court here that he never doubted fugitive financier Low Taek Jho until the authorities began investigating the sovereign wealth fund in 2015.Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, 49, said he had suspicions after he was shown documents relating to the company’s monetary flow when he gave his statement to the authorities.The ninth witness, who was under cross-examination by lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, however, said he could not remember whether it was during a statement he gave to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission or the police.The witness recalled his first encounter with Low, or better known as Jho Low, when the latter was one of his clients in 2007.At that time, Shahrol was a consultant at Accenture while Low was the then managing director of Utama Banking Group Bhd (UBG).His first impression of Low was that he was articulate, had an easy grasp on issues that were discussed, and knowledgeable in his task.“He was often late to our meetings but he was articulate and could understand easily,” he said.“As I remember, he would send a short message before he wanted to meet up. This was for discussions relating to UBG’s million-ringgit project.”The court had earlier heard testimony that Shahrol became the CEO of 1MDB’s earlier entity, the Terengganu Investment Authority Bhd (TIA) after he was invited to join by Low.The witness also told the court that Low had ordered him to delete all communications electronically and physically due to political attacks to protect “The Boss”, which was in reference to Najib.He said Low ordered him to delete all evidence of electronic communications including emails and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) chat logs.“Jho had gifted me two BlackBerry devices because he knows I love technology.“Also the need to secure the communication between us intensified in 2014 onwards where he would only use BBM for text messages and Skype for voice calls.“Jho keep reminding me ‘we don’t know who we can trust, we have to keep it secure to protect ‘the boss’’,” he added.Najib, 66, faces 25 charges in total – four for abuse of power that allegedly brought him the financial benefit to the tune of RM2.3bil; and 21 for money laundering involving the same amount of money.He faces imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of up to five times the sum or value of the gratification if found guilty.The trial continues before High Court judge Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah today.

Source: The Star October 07, 2019 22:41 UTC