Former chief financial officer Azmi Tahir also denied that his name was removed from a lawsuit because he would be giving incriminating evidence against Najib.
Azmi, who was the CFO from 2012 to 2017, said he was only called in by the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to have his statements recorded.
He said he had been summoned to assist in the police and MACC investigations from 2015 but “I don’t know why there were no charges against me”.
“My ex-CEOs (Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman and Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi) and directors were not charged as well,” Azmi said in response to a question by Najib’s lawyer, Hariharan Tara Singh.
The defence had questioned Azmi on whether criminal charges had been filed against him, pointing out that several former 1MDB employees, including general counsel Loo Ai Swan and executives Tang Keng Chee and Geh Choh Heng, had been charged in absentia.
Hariharan said Geh, who was Azmi’s deputy, was charged with committing criminal breach of trust (CBT) over the transfer of US$125 million to Good Star, a company controlled by fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low.
Low and his aide, Tan Kim Loong, were also charged.
“Are you aware of the details of Terence’s (Geh) charge?” Hariharan asked.
Azmi replied: “I don’t know the specifics of the charge and I cannot comment.”
Hariharan then attempted to ask Azmi on Low’s money laundering charges, but trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah interjected and said Azmi did not have any knowledge on the charges.
Azmi said he only read in the media that 1MDB had filed a suit against him and various individuals last year.
“I was never served with a copy of the lawsuit,” he said.
In the suit, the government, through 1MDB and its subsidiary companies, claimed that several individuals committed fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of duties, breach of statutory duties and unjust enrichment.
Initially Azmi, Hazem, Shahrol, former directors Che Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, Ismee Ismail, Ong Gim Huat and Ashvin Jethanand Valiram as well as Najib, Loo, Tang, Geh, Vincent Koh Beng Huat, Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, Kelvin Tan and Radhi Mohamad were named as defendants.
However, Azmi and the former CEOs and directors were dropped from the lawsuit.
Hariharan: Can you confirm that 1MDB initially wanted to claim more than US$3.5 billion against you and others?
Azmi: Yes, as what the court document said.
Hariharan: I put it to you that your name was removed because you would be giving incriminating evidence against Datuk Seri (Najib)?
Azmi: No.
Najib is facing 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering over alleged 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.