Najib confirms he never filed police report on alleged forgery of his signature on 1MDB docs

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 20 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak today confirmed he had never filed complaints with the police to say that he did not actually sign some 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) documents, despite having claimed that his signature was forged on these documents.

Today in the 1MDB trial, deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib asked: “Until now you have never lodged any police report that your signature is forged, that these signatures on these documents are false?”

Najib merely replied “yes” very softly and nodded.

Najib was testifying in his own defence in the 1MDB trial, where over RM2 billion of 1MDB’s funds were alleged to have entered his personal bank accounts.

Today, Akram questioned Najib on the eight 1MDB documents, which the former prime minister said did not carry his signature and instead had forged signatures.

Akram said Najib had at the prosecution stage failed to challenge any prosecution witness on the authenticity of these signatures on six of the documents, and that Najib had only at the defence stage claimed that these signatures were not his.

But Najib disagreed that his claim was an “afterthought”.

One of the eight 1MDB documents shown to Najib today was an October 16, 2009 minutes of an alleged meeting he had as 1MDB’s board of advisers’ chairman with then 1MDB CEO Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi.

Previously, Najib had told the court that the signature in this document was not his, saying that his signature is “basic and simple” and can be easily replicated with enough practice, but that the alleged forged signature here was “far from perfect”.

But Najib denied that he was changing his position from acknowledging that he had signed this document at the prosecution stage, and instead insisted that he had not signed this.

“No, I disagree, because when you look at that signature, it’s very weird. Here it says meeting of chairman of board of advisers, doesn’t even say where. I mean when you record meetings, you normally have the place of meeting — that’s one.

“Number two, how can I have meeting with Shahrol, just the two of us? Who did the minutes? It didn’t take place,” he said as he claimed that the meeting recorded in the 1MDB document did not even take place.

Did Najib meet Jho Low in New York?

Among other things, deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Mustaffa P Kunyalam today asked Najib about his visit to the US in September 2013 when he attended the United Nations General Assembly, and about his meeting with Low Taek Jho — better known as Jho Low — at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in New York then.

When asked about 1MDB former in-house lawyer Jasmine Loo’s testimony that Low had helped arrange a meeting with American investors in collaboration with Goldman Sachs during that September 2013 visit, Najib said he was unsure but added that “Low has no connections with American investors”.

Asked to confirm he did meet with Low at the Mandarin Oriental hotel, Najib said he was “not sure” but said that Low did not arrange the meeting.

Najib said his meetings with investors during his visits would usually be arranged by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida), the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) and sometimes the Securities Commission.

Asked again to confirm that Low was also present during his visit to New York then, Najib said: “I don’t remember, but he did not arrange meetings with investors.”

Najib denies intimidating 1MDB’s auditor KPMG

Earlier, under cross-examination by Deepa Nair Thevaharan, Najib repeatedly denied he had instructed 1MDB’s then auditor KPMG to sign the audit of the company’s 2013 financial statement.

Najib confirmed that he had on November 28, 2013 met with 1MDB officials regarding the audit of 1MDB’s purported US$2.3 billion investments abroad via Brazen Sky Limited, saying he could not remember but that it was probably held at his private residence at Jalan Langgak Duta.

But when asked why it was held at his private house, Najib said: “It doesn’t really matter because I have lots of meetings, including Budget meetings, at my house.”

He said that he had official business at his home — including preparations for the Malaysian government’s Budget with “late night meetings” there — as he would be busy during the day and evenings were when he would be able to meet, saying that there was “nothing unusual” with such meetings.

“I don’t think you should overstate where the meetings were held,” he said as he argued it was insignificant where the meeting was held.

He disagreed that it was inappropriate to have meetings at his private home when he can do so at his office: “Doesn’t matter. It alternates, sometimes I stay at Seri Perdana, sometimes I stay at my private residence. It depends on where I was at that point of time.”

Confirming Low had no official position in 1MDB, Najib denied that Low was at this November 2013 meeting.

As for his December 15, 2013 meeting with 1MDB officials and KPMG at his private residence, Najib at one point said “I don’t follow Jho Low’s instructions” as he denied he was following a strategy prepared by Low to not engage in lengthy discussions with KPMG.

Najib said he wanted the 1MDB 2013 audit to be resolved in compliance with accounting laws and regulations, denying that he had instructed KPMG to sign off the 2013 accounts as he said they were independent auditors and one of the most reputable auditing firms globally.

“I cannot instruct auditors, even if I did instruct, they cannot follow my instructions,” he said, saying that KPMG auditors would not have been bound by his instructions but would be bound by the rules and ethics of being a professional auditor.

With Deepa pointing out that KPMG did not sign off the 1MDB 2013 financial statements and suggesting that they had not followed his instructions to sign, Najib said: “They didn’t follow, but I didn’t instruct them to begin with. But even if I instructed them, they shouldn’t follow if they were not satisfied with the facts.”

Deepa said KPMG was given a timeframe of just 16 days as it was told on December 15 to sign off by December 31, 2013, but Najib replied: “No, I didn’t give them a timeframe. I just wanted the audit to be resolved, but it’s up to them, because they are professional auditors. Just as much as I can’t instruct the auditor-general, I can’t instruct a professional accounting firm.”

When asked about KPMG managing director Datuk Johan Idris’s own notes on the meeting which recorded that the prime minister — then Najib — “would like to see” the 1MDB financial audit signed by December 31, 2013, Najib stressed that he did not instruct KPMG to do so.

“No, he said, PM would like to see the accounts signed, ‘would like to’ — that’s not an instruction,” Najib claimed as he disagreed with Johan’s court testimony that he felt the prime minister had instructed him.

Najib later continued to use how Johan’s notes was phrased to insist it meant he did not instruct KPMG: “I told you repeatedly I didn’t instruct him and his own documents said I ‘would like’. If I instructed him, why didn’t he say the prime minister ‘instructed’ him?”

When Deepa said that Johan was intimidated by Najib when he as the prime minister said he wanted to see the 1MDB audit signed by December 31, Najib disagreed: “No, no, no, I said I ‘would like’ — not as a PM — as a client.”

“I never intimidated him, okay?” Najib stressed.

Najib disagreed that it was him that made the decision to terminate KPMG after the audit firm did not sign off on the 1MDB audit by December 31, 2013, claiming that the changing of the 1MDB audit firm was allegedly what the 1MDB management wanted.

Najib disagreed that he had pressured KPMG or attempted to suppress scrutiny over 1MDB’s purported Brazen Sky investments, or that the replacement of KPMG with Deloitte was to avoid further scrutiny of 1MDB accounts.

“I just wanted to say, the company that replaced KPMG is one of the top three auditors you see, we are not replacing it with a fly-by-night firm, this is another internationally recognised accounting firm, that’s the point, you see,” he said.

Najib said it was “entirely false” to say that documents were not revealed to KPMG for its audit as he knew 1MDB funds had allegedly been used for Barisan Nasional’s and Umno’s benefit.

“You see the fundamental difference is that KPMG said they wanted additional documents, but the management said they are asking for excessive documents, whatever they have now is sufficient. So that’s where there is the difference of opinions between the management and KPMG. That’s what actually happened, nothing to do with funding,” he said.

Najib’s 1MDB trial before judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah resumes tomorrow.