SRC board ex-chairman: Jho Low was close to many top company execs

Located in the coveted Bird Streets on a pie-shaped promontory known as the Crown, the 1.2-acre complex was famously owned by Jho Low.

KUALA LUMPUR: A number of top-level SRC International Sdn Bhd executives were close associates of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low (pic).

Some of them may even have misled the board of directors on investments made by the company, the High Court heard Monday (June 17).

The court was told that SRC International director Datuk Suboh Md Yassin may have been complicit with the company's chief executive officer and managing director Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil in not informing the board of directors that RM140mil was invested into an alleged mining venture in South America.

Under cross-examination by Harvinderjit Singh – counsel to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak – Tan Sri Ismee Ismail agreed that the board of directors was not told about Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd's deal with Putra Perdana Construction to invest in the alleged mining venture.

Ismee, the former chairman of SRC International's board of directors, agreed to this after he was shown in court a document to transfer RM140mil from SRC International to its subsidiary Gandingan Mentari, which was signed off by Suboh.

Harvinderjit: Committing to the RM140mil in investments was something Suboh never told the board?

Ismee: (He) never told me.

Harvinderjit: It seems as if Suboh was complicit (in this) with Nik Faisal?

Ismee: Yes.

The High Court heard that the deal was inked to give a 70/30 share of the profit for Gandingan Mentari and Putra Perdana.

Ismee also agreed that many executives in the management team of SRC International were close associates of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low.

Harvindejit: From what you know now, people such as Nik Faisal, (SRC International director) Jerome Lee, and (1MDB finance director) Terrance Geh – they were close associates of Jho Low?

Ismee: Yes.

Proceedings is set to continue in front of Justice Mohd Nazlan Mihd Ghazali in the afternoon.

Najib, 66, faces three counts of criminal breach of trust, one charge of abusing his position and three counts of money laundering involving SRC International Sdn Bhd funds amounting to RM42mil.