A former Bank Negara Malaysia chief testified against the country’s ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak in a trial linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd., saying she had expressed concern on the rising debt at the state fund and had no knowledge that some money in the then leader’s accounts were from 1MDB.
Reading from a 17-page prepared statement, Zeti Akhtar Aziz, who ran the central bank for 16 years through 2016, said she had sent Najib a letter in his capacity as finance minister on July 23, 2014, to flag 1MDB’s elevated debt levels, and the repayment challenges faced by the group. She wrote another letter to Najib on Jan. 16, 2015, flagging concerns on 1MDB funds and their potential implications on the government’s fiscal position.
“When the above mentioned letters were issued, BNM had no knowledge of the fact the the funds that were meant for investment by 1MDB had been remitted into accounts that were unrelated to 1MDB’s investment declaration,” she said. “In fact, at that material time, BNM did not have knowledge that the funds in (Najib’s) account were from 1MDB.”
Najib, 70, is standing trial on charges of money laundering and abuse of power over the alleged misuse of 2.3 billion ringgit ($508 million) belonging to 1MDB, which became the focus of a scandal that spawned multiple probes in Asia, the US and Europe. The case is among the multiple trials he faces in relation to the fund, and Zeti is being counted as a high-profile witness.
Najib is serving a 12-year prison sentence for a separate corruption conviction linked to 1MDB’s former unit SRC International. He has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence and is seeking a royal pardon.
Zeti, 76, who is credited by investors with strengthening the credibility and independence of Bank Negara Malaysia, made her first appearance at the trial Wednesday afternoon but didn’t testify. The hearing before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah will resume on Aug. 14.
State news agency Bernama previously cited Zeti as saying the allegations claiming that she and her family were involved in the 1MDB scandal are “completely false and malicious.”
Her husband Tawfiq Ayman also denied taking bribes in relation to the 1MDB fraud, according to a February 2022 report in The Star, which cited a statement issued through a law firm. He spoke after former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker Tim Leissner, a start witness in a separate trial linked to 1MDB, said Tawfiq had been bribed before a large sum of money was transferred in connection with the scandal, according to the report.
Tawfiq said he did not know Leissner or his subordinate Roger Ng, and had never met or communicated with them, the report said.
Roger was sentenced to 10 years in prison in March this year for his role in the 1MDB fraud and ordered to forfeit $35.1 million as ill-gotten gains from the conspiracy to loot the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.
--With assistance from Ravil Shirodkar.
(Updates with details from Zeti’s testimony)
