Singing like a canary, Jasmine Loo leaves Najib '1MDB' Razak out to hang dry

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Jasmine Loo told the High Court that Tim Leissner lied about her during his testimony in Roger Ng’s corruption trial in New York.

Singing like a canary, Jasmine Loo leaves Najib '1MDB' Razak out to hang dry

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28, 2024: Former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) general counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan testified in court today that all projects undertaken by 1MDB required Najib’s endorsement as he was a shareholder in 1MDB by virtue of being the finance minister and chairman of the company’s board of advisors.

Loo, who joined 1MDB in 2011, also said that during her tenure with the company, it was the “practice” to seek (kleptocrat) Najib’s approval for all company projects.

No News Is Bad News reproduces a news report on today’s court proceedings:

Leissner lied about me to US court, says Jasmine Loo

The former 1MDB general counsel says Tim Leissner’s remarks about her being Jho Low’s ‘number one henchman’ were without basis.

Ho Kit Yen - 28 Feb 2024, 2:42pm

Jasmine Loo told the High Court that Tim Leissner lied about her during his testimony in Roger Ng’s corruption trial in New York.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former 1MDB general counsel Loo Ai Swan, better known as Jasmine Loo, told Najib Razak’s 1MDB trial today that statements made about her by former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner were untrue.

Loo said she only knew today about the comments Leissner made about her when testifying at former banker-colleague Roger Ng’s corruption trial in Brooklyn, New York.

Asked by defence counsel Shafee Abdullah about Leissner’s claim that she was the “number one henchman” of Low Taek Jho or Jho Low, Loo said: “That was his (Leissner’s) opinion. It is not true.”

Loo also denied a claim by Leissner that she was “not happy” about a sum of money she was supposed to receive in a Credit Suisse bank account.

She said that all projects undertaken by 1MDB required Najib’s endorsement as he was a shareholder in 1MDB by virtue of being the finance minister and chairman of the company’s board of advisors.

Loo, who joined 1MDB in 2011, also said that during her tenure with the company, it was the “practice” to seek Najib’s approval for all company projects.

Shafee: Didn’t (that practice) relegate all the directors into oblivion?

Loo: That was the practice.

Shafee: Was it your job to make sure that he (Najib) was signing a document in his capacity as the prime minister, finance minister or shareholder?

Loo: In substance, it was the same person (Najib).

The hearing continues before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah.

Najib is facing 25 counts of money laundering and abuse of power over alleged 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.

I didn’t report ‘threats’ from Jho Low, Jasmine Loo tells court

The former 1MDB general counsel says she spent the five years preceding her arrest in Thailand, Cambodia, China and Myanmar.

Ho Kit Yen - 28 Feb 2024, 5:12pm

Jasmine Loo admitted to receiving lavish gifts from Jho Low, including a Richard Mille watch and a Hermes bag.

KUALA LUMPUR: Jasmine Loo told the High Court in Najib Razak’s trial that she did not lodge reports over purported threats she received while living in exile between 2018 and last year.

The former 1MDB counsel, however, insisted she was under threat from Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, and was being monitored.

“I didn’t want to endanger myself (by reporting the threats),” the witness said.

Asked by defence counsel Shafee Abdullah about her life outside Malaysia prior to her arrest by police last year, Loo said she initially lived in Thailand but moved to Cambodia later in 2018, before relocating to China and Myanmar.

She said Low had said there would be “reprisals” if she returned home. He also said he was in the midst of negotiations with the then Pakatan Harapan government.

“He asked me not to spoil his plan (negotiations).

“I felt that if I did not follow his instructions, there might be consequences, and I believed at that time he would take drastic action (against me),” said Loo.

The witness also said she did not want to face the same fate as former PetroSaudi executive Xavier Justo, whom she claimed was “forced” to make a false confession.

Shafee: Did you lodge a police report after you came back?

Loo: I did not. I will have to take advice from my lawyers.

Asked about her current status as a protected witness, Loo refused to answer. Deputy public prosecutor Deepa Nair Thevaharan then informed the court that Loo is barred from disclosing details.

Loo said she had resolved a lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice (DoJ) against her, which saw her surrender all items claimed by the US government.

Shafee: You received expensive gifts from Jho Low?

Loo: Over the years, when I was in UBG Group.

She said the items included a Richard Mille watch and a Hermes bag which she received after leaving 1MDB.

Explaining the exotic holidays she took with Low, which included visits to casinos in Las Vegas, Loo said she went along as a friend.

The hearing continues on March 14.

Najib is facing 25 counts of money laundering and abuse of power over alleged 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.