Former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halim said fugitive financer Low Taek Jho or Jho Low told him that PSI was very disappointed and dissatisfied.

“Jho Low informed me ‘they complained to daddy’, which means that Prince Turki had informed King Abdullah (his father),” Shahrol, the ninth prosecution witness in the trial of Najib Razak, told ad-hoc prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram today.

Najib is facing 25 charges of money laundering and abuse of power over alleged 1MDB funds in his AmBank accounts.

Shahrol said there were discussions between the former prime minister and the Saudi ruler on the murabaha financing.

In September 2009, PSI and 1MDB entered into a joint venture, under which 1MDB would invest US$1 billion or 40% equity in oil exploration in Argentina and Turkmenistan.

Shahrol said 1MDB could not provide the US$330 million funds as agreed with PSI because it had no money.

“As the US$$330 million was agreed upon, I finally had to comply and direct the last tranche payment of US$125 million to be made to PSI,” he said.

To another question, Shahrol said the US$1 billion invested in the joint venture did not bring any benefit.

Sri Ram: Did the 1MDB investment bring any return?

Shahrol: No, not even a penny.

The witness said that since the joint venture was between governments, 1MDB could not arbitrarily terminate it because it involved bilateral ties between Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.

The prosecution is contending that PSI CEO Tarek Obaid and Jho Low suggested that the joint venture be converted into an investment (murabaha financial agreement), and that Najib had approved it.

Earlier, Shahrol said that PSI was asking for US$750 million for the murabaha financing but the amount was reduced to US$330 million.

The hearing continues before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.