1MDB board's bid to repatriate Aabar Investment's monies overseas mere theatrics, said former CEO Hazem

KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 — The efforts and concern officially voiced by the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) board of directors and its shareholder, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, to repatriate monies from the abortive joint venture between Abu Dhabi’s Aabar Investments PJS were simply sandiwara or theatrics, the High Court heard today. 

Former 1MDB chief executive officer Mohd Hazem Abd Rahman stated that despite Najib putting it on record on two separate occasions, including a board meeting on February 27, 2014, that the RM3 billion, which was invested overseas must be repatriated, the latter’s efforts were not entirely genuine. 

During cross examination by Najib’s lawyer, Wan Aizuddin Wan Mohammed had repeatedly questioned the former 1MDB chief executive on his assertion that the monies from the abortive deal belonged to Umno and why it was difficult to repatriated the monies back to the country. 

Wan Aizuddin had also brought up a 1MDB board meeting, where Najib was present, during their visit to Lugano, Switzerland in 2014. 

The meeting in question follows after members of the board had conducted due diligence at the BSI Bank headquarter, where the aforementioned RM3 billion from the abortive joint venture was  

Wan Aizuddin: Now you would agree with me that this is the second time that the company shareholder had insisted for the money to be returned and the board of directors took the efforts to go to Lugano, shows the seriousness for the funds to be taken back. 

Hazem: I disagree 

Wan Aizuddin: And you disagree because in your mind that the funds belong to Umno? 

Hazem: No, because I think this is all sandiwara (theatrics). 

In his previous statement to the high court, Hazem stated that fugitive businessmen Low Taek Jho or Jho Low had repeatedly asserted to him that aforementioned funds actually belong to Umno and 1MDB was formed to protect the supposed personal interest of Najib and his political party. 

Hazem also claims that this was personal knowledge to many members of the board and they too had gone along with such assertions. 

When Aizuddin asked whether Hazem had also played along with the sandiwara supposedly propped up by Jho Low, the former chief executive disagreed.  

But Hazem asserted that he played along as he thought the scheme was actually part of Jho Low and Najib’s supposed overall plan. 

On September 15, Hazem also told the court that part of the RM3 billion funds were used to pay off the company’s debts and even to buy land in Penang, which featured in Najib’s election campaign speech.