Share to help stimulate good governance, ensure future of people & M’sia
No News Is Bad News
Umno used 1MDB funds for general election in May 2013?
US$2.3b (RM10.4b) in 1MDB funds used for BN’s 2013 GE campaign?
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20, 2025: The disgraced, shameless and unrepentant kleptocrat, former prime minister “1MDB” Razak told the High Court today that KPMG, then 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB)’s auditors refused to sign the company’s 2013 financial statements.
The jailbird, now serving his jail sentence in Kajang Prison, said KPMG was unable to verify the authenticity of 1MDB’s US$2.3 billion (RM10.4 billion) Brazan Sky “investment”.
The former Umno president also denied the prosecution’s contention that the funds – purportedly kept in Brazen Sky – had been used by Barisan Nasional (BN) during the general election in May 2013.
No News Is Bad News reproduces below a news report on the court proceedings:
KPMG unhappy over 1MDB’s US$2.3bil Brazen Sky ‘investment’, Najib tells court
-20 Jan 2025, 03:02 PM
Ex-prime minister says the then 1MDB auditors did not sign the company’s 2013 financial statements as they were unable to verify the authenticity of the investment.
Najib Razak is on trial for 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering over funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014. (Bernama pic)
PUTRAJAYA: Former prime minister Najib Razak told the High Court here today a senior auditor in KPMG was “not happy” because 1MDB did not provide sufficient documents to justify the company’s US$2.3 billion “investment” in Brazen Sky Ltd.
Najib said he met KPMG’s then managing director Johan Idris at his home on Dec 15, 2013, after the auditors had refused to sign 1MDB’s financial statements for that year.
He said the meeting was also attended by 1MDB’s then chairman Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, CEO Hazem Abdul Rahman, and chief financial officer Azmi Tahir.
The court previously heard that KPMG had questioned the US$2.3 billion outlay in Brazen Sky after being unable to verify the authenticity of the investment.
KPMG was subsequently replaced by Deloitte as 1MDB’s auditors.
Najib insisted that he “did not order” Johan to sign off on the company’s 2013 financial statements at the meeting.
“I cannot instruct them. I (said I) hoped that it can be resolved but not at the expense of good accounting practice.
“Even if I did instruct (as Johan claimed) they shouldn’t follow,” he said.
He said Johan, who took notes of the Dec 15, 2013 meeting, never claimed to have been “instructed” or “pressured” by the then prime minister.
“He (Johan) was not happy, and only said (in his notes) that he did not respond to me,” he said.
Deputy public prosecutor Deepa Nair Thevaharan then referred to Johan’s testimony in 2022 to being “pressured”, and asked: “Johan has no motive against you, right?”
“He never said I instructed him,” Najib replied.
Najib also said the testimonies of Hazem and former chief secretary to the government, Sidek Hassan, that 1MDB was set up to assist Umno and Barisan Nasional, were “false”.
He denied the prosecution’s contention that the funds – purportedly kept in Brazen Sky – had been used by BN during the general election in May 2013.
The hearing cefore Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues on Tuesday.
DPP Ahmad Akram Gharib told the court the prosecution will wrap up its cross-examination of Najib tomorrow.
Najib is on trial for 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering over funds amounting to RM2.28 billion that were deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment