KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — The High Court here was told today that former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak returned US$620 million out of the US$681 million he received as a purported “Arab donation” because he was uncomfortable keeping such a large amount of money in his bank account.

Najib’s lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said according to his client, the money was returned to the sender, Tanore Finance Corporation, after the 13th General Election (GE13) in 2013.

The veteran lawyer said that Najib returned the money to Tanore in the hope that it (Tanore) was part of the Arab donation.

Muhammad Shafee suggested this to an offshore asset recovery specialist, Angela Barkhouse, the managing director of Kroll (Cayman) Ltd and head of Kroll’s Offshore Practice, who is the third plaintiff witness, on the sixth day of the trial of 1MDB’s US$5.64 billion civil suit against Najib and six others.

Muhammad Shafee: Now, isn’t that consistent with his (Najib’s) claim that he believed the money was an Arab donation?

Barkhouse: I can’t comment on that.

Muhammad Shafee: But you are aware that the US$620 million was returned to Tanore…almost as soon as the election was over in Malaysia?

Barkhouse: I am not sure of the date of the election, so I can’t comment or confirm it.

Previously, it was reported that Tanore was controlled by Eric Tan Kim Loong, an associate of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low.

Muhammad Shafee then said the tracing of the funds showed that, after the money was returned, its final destination did not lead back to Najib, which Barkhouse agreed with.

Meanwhile, in a separate criminal proceeding against Najib, 1MDB trial judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah ruled that evidence, including bank records and the money trail, showed that the US$681 million had actually been misappropriated from 1MDB. 

1MDB and its subsidiaries — 1MDB Energy Holdings Limited, 1MDB Energy Limited, 1MDB Energy (Langat) Limited and Global Diversified Investment Company Limited, formerly known as 1MDB Global Investments Limited — filed the civil suit on May 7, 2021.

They named Najib, 1MDB’s former finance director Terrence Geh Choh Heng, former executive director Casey Tang Keng Chee, former chief investment officer Vincent Beng Huat Koh, former chief operating officer Radhi Mohamad, former investment director Kelvin Tan Kay Jim, and former chief investment officer Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, as defendants.

The writ of summons stated that the plaintiffs, among other things, accused the defendants of breach of trust, breach of statutory duty, abuse of power and conspiracy to misappropriate 1MDB funds.

The trial before Judicial Commissioner Mohamad Redzuan Idrus resumes tomorrow. — Bernama