The task force, consisting of representatives from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), police, BNM, and the attorney-general’s chambers (AGC) was set up in July that year to probe allegations made against the sovereign fund.
However, it was later reported that the task force was disbanded.
Testifying in Najib’s 1MDB trial, Zeti said the 2015 task force, in which she was a member, was set up to investigate whether 1MDB and its officers had committed any wrongdoing.
“When the task force first met in 2015, there was no knowledge of a connection between 1MDB funds and Najib’s bank account.
“We knew of 1MDB’s high debt (levels) and a potential default that would impact future generations,” Zeti told the court.
She denied lawyer Shafee Abdullah’s contention that the task force was set up to “find a way to charge Najib and cause a change in government”.
“I am not aware there were draft charges (against Najib),” she said, when asked about purported “leaked” charges against Najib.
‘No conflict of interest’
Zeti also denied that her role as a member of the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) established in 2018 placed her in a position of conflict of interest.
Established shortly after Pakatan Harapan (PH) came to power following the 14th general election (GE14) in May 2018, the CEP also comprised former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, former Petronas president and CEO Hassan Marican, tycoon Robert Kuok and economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram.
Zeti said the CEP was not set up to investigate 1MDB. That task fell to another team headed by former attorney-general Abu Talib Othman.
“The CEP was not investigating 1MDB. It was about economic reform.
“I attended the (CEP’s) 100 days of meetings and 1MDB was never discussed. You can get the agenda and show me (if I am wrong),” Zeti added.
The lawyer had suggested that Zeti was in a conflict of interest as her husband and children had allegedly received funds from Low Taek Jho, the fugitive who is better known as Jho Low.
“Dr M (Mahathir Mohamad) said in an interview that you told him to take action against the (then) prime minister (Najib) because you knew he (Najib) had a lot of money in his account,” Shafee claimed, to which Zeti disagreed.
Trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah then asked in jest whether the prosecution intended to subpoena Mahathir as a witness to verify the contents of the interview.
Separately, Zeti told the court she is hoping that the police investigation into her husband, Tawfiq Ayman, would conclude quickly.
She said the police had issued media statements in the past, saying that they are waiting for a response from the Singapore government.
Asked whether she was a “protected” personality since no action had been taken against her and her family, Zeti responded: “I am an ordinary citizen and I am not protected by anyone.”
Najib is standing trial on 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering of alleged 1MDB funds over the RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.
The hearing before Sequerah continues.