KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak's former aide denied today that his refusal to follow fugitive financier Low Taek Jho’s orders to destroy documents related to the 1MDB scandal was motivated by his desire to keep this as “insurance” for later use.
Najib's former special officer, Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin, said he usually destroyed these on Low’s instructions and in the course of his work with the Prime Minister's Department.
Amhari is the eighth prosecution witness testifying against Najib in the latter's corruption trial over 1MDB funds.
He disagreed with Najib's lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah who suggested that he did not destroy all of these as instructed in order to use these later to absolve himself.
Shafee then highlighted that Amhari had kept these documents in his cousin's apartment and not at his own home, with the tranche later discovered by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Shafee: This was purposely organised by you, you have been purposely keeping in case there are any issues with Jho Low which you have been cooperating since 2007.
Amhari: I disagree.
Shafee suggested the act of storing the papers at his cousin’s home was for concealment rather than an oversight as he claimed in previous testimony.
Amhari also rejected this.
The lawyer then brought up the fact thatAmhari had brought the MACC to his cousin's house on June 25, 2018 after he was detained.
Shafee: You decided after being arrested, after being investigated a number of days, you decided to work with MACC with the hope your own problem could be treated leniently, you have not been charged for offences you committed.
Amhari: I disagree.
Shafee: This is tit for tat, you provided some evidence for them, including incriminating my client and you provided some documents.
Amhari: I disagree.
Najib's ongoing 1MDB trial involves 25 criminal charges ― four counts of abusing his position for his own financial benefit totalling almost RM2.3 billion allegedly originating from 1MDB and the resulting 21 counts of money-laundering.
