Former 1MDB CEO and director Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi said he signed the agreement at his office here while his counterpart, Tarek Obaid, signed it “somewhere else”.
“I don’ t know where he signed the document,” he said when cross-examined by Najib ‘s lawyer, Muhamamd Shafee Abdullah.
Shahrol, the ninth prosecution witness, said the plan was for Najib and King Abdullah to witness the signing of the agreement in Putrajaya on Sept 28, 2009.
He said the ceremony was rushed and everyone was working under pressure only to see it not materialising.
King Abdullah died in early January 2015.
Shahrol said he was only told a day earlier or on the same day of the event that King Abdullah would not be present.
“I did not know in advance as I was not in the Prime Minister’s Office, ” he told Shafee on the 24th day of the trial.
PSI and 1MDB had entered into the joint venture, with the former pumping in US$1 billion or 40% of the shareholding in 1MBD PetroSaudi Ltd.
However, the agreement was signed with Saudi Holdings (Cayman) Ltd.
Shahrol said that on Sept 30, two days after the agreement was signed, 1MDB sent US$300 million to 1MBD PetroSaudi Ltd and US$700 million to Good Star Ltd, which belonged to fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, or better known as Jho Low.
He said Tarek had sent a letter on Sept 29 to 1MDB to split the payment as the US$700 million was a “loan”.
“Jho Low explained to me that the value of the assets injected in the joint venture company was higher than the US1 billion,” he said.
Shahrol said he felt that Najib, as finance minister and sole shareholder of 1MDB, was operating the state investor company and keeping those working for him in silo.
“As CEO , I did not have the complete picture of the government-owned company,” he said, adding that Low’s instruction to him came from Najib.
Shahrol said he was discouraged to find out beyond what he was tasked to do as he feared being seen as a busybody.
Najib is facing 25 charges of money laundering and abuse of power over alleged 1MDB funds in his AmBank accounts.
He is accused of abusing his position to obtain RM2.28 billion in bribes in February 2011 and December 2014.
He is also said to have transferred RM2.28 billion in illegal funds to his bank accounts and to have subsequently used the money.
The hearing before High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah was adjourned to Thursday as Shafee needs to go for a follow-up check-up after an eye operation on Saturday.