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Former 1MDB lawyer Jasmine Loo told the High Court it was not Najib Razak’s duty to inquire into the origins of PetroSaudi International Ltd.
1MDB invested US$1b without any due diligence, says Loo
KUALA LUMPUR, April 1, 2024: Former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) general counsel Jasmine Loo today testified in the High Court that no due diligence was conducted before 1MDB’s US$1 billion (RM4.7 billion) investment in PetroSaudi International Ltd (PSI).
Continuing to sing like a canary in court, Loo said 1MDB’s management and lawyers should have checked on PSI’s existence prior to investing.
No News Is Bad News reproduces below a news report on the court proceedings:
No due diligence before 1MDB’s US$1bil investment in PSI, says Loo
-01 Apr 2024, 05:31 PM
Jasmine Loo says 1MDB’s management and lawyers should have checked on PetroSaudi International Ltd prior to investing.
Former 1MDB lawyer Jasmine Loo told the High Court it was not Najib Razak’s duty to inquire into the origins of PetroSaudi International Ltd.
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court in Najib Razak’s corruption trial heard today that 1MDB’s management had failed to conduct any due diligence on the existence of PetroSaudi International Ltd (PSI) before channelling funds into its account.
Under cross-examination, 1MDB’s former general counsel Jasmine Loo admitted it was not then prime minister Najib’s task to check on the origins of PSI.
Najib, who was also the finance minister at the time, was the sole shareholder of the government-linked company. He was also chairman of 1MDB’s board of advisers.
In questioning the witness, Najib’s lawyer, Shafee Abdullah pointed out that PSI was incorporated in the Seychelles, East Africa. He said there was no documentation to show that PSI existed in Saudi Arabia.
Shafee: How much do you know about PSI?
Loo: I know based on documents that were given to me, such as the letters from banks and (former 1MDB CEO) Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi.
Shafee: Is it the job of the prime minister to know (if) PSI exists in Saudi?
Loo: No.
Shafee: That will be the job of the management or its legal consultants, Wong & Partners?
Loo: Yes, any one of them.
Shafee: Including you, as you were highly paid.
Loo: Yes.
Shafee: I put it to you PSI never existed.
Loo: I don’t know.
Shafee: I put it to you PSI was a total con job, and you should have checked because a massive amount of money was channelled into it.
Loo: In hindsight, yes.
In 2019, Shahrol testified that the joint venture deal between 1MDB and PSI in 2009 was a failure.
Following the signing of the joint venture agreement on Sept 28, 2009, 1MDB invested US$1 billion to secure a 40% stake while PetroSaudi Holdings Cayman, purportedly a subsidiary of PSI, “injected” dubious assets in exchange for the balance 60% stake.
The prosecution contended that the joint venture arrangement was a device set up to siphon 1MDB’s money for Najib’s benefit.
1MDB is said to have lost a total of US$1.83 billion in the so-called government-to-government joint venture.
Najib is facing 25 charges of money laundering and abuse of power over alleged 1MDB funds that were deposited into his AmBank accounts.
The hearing before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues.
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