UK-based financial fraud investigator Richard Templeman admitted that he and the PAC arrived at different conclusions regarding the 1MDB financial crisis, with him placing the blame on Arul while PAC attributed it to 1MDB’s former CEO, Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi.
Templeman was responding to a cross-examination by Arul’s counsel Sanjay Mohan during the hearing of 1MDB’s US$6.59 billion lawsuit against Arul and former Treasury secretary-general Irwan Serigar Abdullah.
Sanjay: Mr Templeman, look at the PAC report and see what it says. Do you agree that it is a very different conclusion from what you are saying?
Templeman: No, I do not think I can comment on that.
Sanjay: Mr Templeman, I’m sorry but you are a witness in this case. You have made an allegation against my client. You should have read the report before coming to testify. Please look at the report again and answer my question. Is your finding different from the PAC’s findings in 2016?
Templeman: Yes.
Templeman, who has 24 years of experience in investigating fraud and financial crimes, also confirmed that Arul’s name was never mentioned in the US department of justice’s civil lawsuit on July 21, 2016.
In 2016, the PAC released a 106-page report concluding that the financial problems that plagued 1MDB were primarily due to mismanagement by Shahrol, who helmed the fund from 2009 to 2013.
After Shahrol’s tenure, Hazem Abd Rahman served as 1MDB CEO briefly before Arul took over from early 2015 until mid-2018.
In May 2021, 1MDB filed a lawsuit against Irwan and Arul over alleged breach of trust and conspiracy that resulted in US$1.83 billion in losses related to the company’s investment in 1MDB-Petrosaudi Ltd.
1MDB alleged that both defendants committed breach of trust and conspiracy by misappropriating US$3.5 billion in company funds paid to Aabar Investments and US$1.265 billion paid to the International Petroleum Investment Company on May 9, 2017.
1MDB is seeking US$6.59 billion in damages from both defendants and an additional RM2.9 million from Irwan related to the extension of the employment agreement.
The hearing before Judicial Commissioner Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan resumes tomorrow.