1MDB trial: Jho Low flooded Najib’s ex-aides with emails in bid to contain fallout, deny role in scandal
“In this document, in paragraph seven, it stresses how Jho Low played no role in 1MDB, even though he happens to be the main planner concerning confidential 1MDB dealings”
(MMO) – Fugitive financier Low Taek Jho sent hundreds of emails to Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s then special officers with instructions on how to handle news of the alleged misappropriation at 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the High Court heard today.
Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin, previously a special officer to the former prime minister, testified in Najib’s main 1MDB corruption trial today that among these emails sent in 2015 and 2016 were ones to explicitly deny that Low was in any way linked to 1MDB.
“This document shows that Jho Low prepared answers to questions surrounding his involvement within 1MDB,” he said referring to one of the emails he received from Low in early 2015 and tendered in court as evidence.
“In this document, in paragraph seven, it stresses how Jho Low played no role in 1MDB, even though he happens to be the main planner concerning confidential 1MDB dealings,” he read from his witness statement.
The same email, Amhari said, also contained scripted responses on topics such as 1MDB’s ability to repay its loans, why these were dollar-denominated, why the Malaysian firm was keeping funds in the Cayman Islands, and how its activities were meant to benefit the country.
Other major issues addressed were Low’s involvement or lack thereof and his personal background.
Amhari said further emails also coached him and his former boss, the late Datuk Azlin Alias, on Low’s preferred narrative for 1MDB and apprised them on related developments.
