Najib was a suspect in police’s CBT probe as 1MDB money flowed into his account, investigator tells court

PUTRAJAYA, March 27 — Then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was a suspect in the police’s investigation of criminal breach of trust (CBT) offences linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the High Court heard today.

Senior assistant commissioner R. Rajagopal, who became the investigating officer for a CBT probe on 1MDB in 2015, said this was because money from the Finance Ministry-owned company had gone into Najib's account as the finance minister then.

Rajagopal — testifying as the 11th defence witness in Najib’s 1MDB trial — confirmed that one of the reasons that he as a high-ranking police officer was assigned to investigate the 1MDB case was because of the high-profile “personalities” involved.

This included Najib, who was the finance minister, since 1MDB was a company wholly owned by the Finance Ministry, he said.

“At that time, suspect, as I mentioned in my affidavit, there was money flowing from 1MDB into Datuk Seri Najib’s account,” Rajagopal replied when answering deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib’s question on whether Najib was a suspect in the CBT case.

Rajagopal later clarified that there were no suspects identified yet when he took over the CBT investigation on 1MDB in 2015, as the investigations were still in the early stages.

He said the police's investigation then was on whether there were any wrongdoings in 1MDB transactions and to identify who committed the wrongdoing, and also who received the amount belonging to 1MDB.

But later after the entire investigations took place, Najib was identified as the person who had received money that can be traced back to 1MDB, he said.

Rajagopal on September 13, 2015 took over the police's investigation based on Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan's December 2014 police report.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak Najib is facing 25 charges, namely four charges of power abuse under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act and 21 charges of money laundering of funds belonging to 1MDB. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

Rajagopal confirmed that Khairuddin's police report was lodged based on media reports about 1MDB's multi-billion ringgit debts due to mismanagement. He also confirmed that Khairuddin had urged the police to investigate both 1MDB and the Finance Ministry to explain the losses as 1MDB is wholly-owned by the Minister of Finance (MoF) Inc.

Rajagopal confirmed that 1MDB was placed directly under the control of then finance minister Najib since the company was formed, also confirming that Najib is the chairman of 1MDB's board of advisers.

He confirmed that any 1MDB decisions with financial implications required Najib's prior approval as the prime minister, based on Article 117 of the company's constitution.

Rajagopal confirmed that by the time he took over the investigations, 1MDB's multi-billion losses and mismanagement was a hot topic both locally and abroad and there were already news reports linking this issue to Najib.

Among other things, Rajagopal confirmed that there were also existing stories about the entry of RM2.6 billion into Najib's accounts when he was still carrying out investigations on the misappropriation of 1MDB funds.

Rajagopal, however, also confirmed that his investigation was on CBT offences in the 1MDB case under Section 409 of the Penal Code, and that his investigation was not on power abuse charges under Section 23 of an anti-corruption law.

In this trial, Najib is facing 25 charges, namely four charges of power abuse under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act and 21 charges of money laundering of funds belonging to 1MDB.

Also in this trial, more than RM2 billion of 1MDB funds is alleged to have entered Najib's personal AmIslamic bank accounts. Najib insists these are Saudi donations to him.

When asked by deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Mustaffa P Kunyalam, Rajagopal today confirmed that Article 117 — which requires the PM's approval for major 1MDB financial decisions — was inserted into 1MDB's company constitution on August 11, 2009.

Rajagopal also confirmed to Mustaffa that 1MDB's shareholder MoF Inc had on August 12, 2009 appointed then finance minister Najib as its corporate representative for 1MDB.

Rajagopal today also confirmed he had been in the police force since the age of 19 in 1982 and had 41 years of experience until his April 2023 retirement, including around 17 years at the police's Commercial Crime Investigation Department.

Najib's 1MDB trial before trial judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah resumes on April 7, with the prosecution expected to further cross-examine Rajagopal.