Loo says she did not make any deal to testify against Najib

Day in court: Najib being escorted out of the court in Kuala Lumpur. — Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR: A key witness in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial reiterated that she did not make any deal with the prosecution to testify against the former prime minister, the High Court heard.

Jasmine Loo, 50, who was 1MDB’s general counsel, also disagreed with a suggestion by Najib’s lawyer, Tania Scivetti, that her testimony was in exchange for the prosecution not to pursue her court cases.

Loo, who was a fugitive for five years, was charged in absentia under Section 179 of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 with commissioning and abetment to misappropriate US$2.7bil from three 1MDB bonds underwritten by Goldman Sachs in 2018.

According to Loo, when the charges were filed against her, she was not called by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) to respond.

“My statement has not been recorded. However, since I returned to Malaysia, I have responded to the various authorities regarding the charges, which include the SC,” she said.

Scivetti then asked whether the charges against Loo had been officially withdrawn.

“No, I am not saying that,” Loo replied.

Loo was also accused of allegedly laundering a total of US$5.99mil for unlawful activity, received into the account of River Dee International SA (BVI) in Falcon Private Bank AG in Zurich.

The offence under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 and punishable under Section 4(1) of the same Act carries upon conviction a fine not exceeding RM5mil, or imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both.Loo previously testified that she feared for her life and stayed put in Bangkok, Thailand, on the instructions of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low.

Najib, 70, is on trial for 25 charges in total – four for abuse of power that allegedly brought him the financial benefit to the tune of RM2.28bil, and 21 for money laundering charges involving the same amount of money.

The hearing continues before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah today.