PUTRAJAYA: 1Malaysia Development Berhad's (1MDB) former legal adviser Wong & Partners was not involved in the transfer of US$1bil for its 2009 joint venture with PetroSaudi International, the High Court has been told.
Brian Chia Hock Gee, a former partner at Wong & Partners, said the firm had no role in the payment as it did not handle any funds.
He said the transfer was undertaken by 1MDB chief executive officer Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and its former executive director of business development, Casey Tang Keng Chee.
Chia added that dealings with Bank Negara for exchange control approvals related to the joint venture were handled by 1MDB.
The 56-year-old is the 23rd defence witness in Datuk Seri Najib Razak's trial involving the alleged misappropriation of RM2.3bil from 1MDB.
For the record, the US$1bil was sent in two parts, namely, US$700mil went to an account at RBS Coutts, which was later found to belong to Good Star Limited, a company owned by fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low. The remaining US$300mil was transferred to an account at JP Morgan.
Regarding the joint venture agreement, Chia said he attended a meeting in London on Sept 25, 2009, as instructed by Shahrol.
"Shahrol informed me that Jho Low was an adviser to 1MDB. I was instructed by Shahrol to work with Jho Low, Casey, and Shahrol on the matter, which I then did. I attended a meeting at the law firm White & Case, which was representing the PetroSaudi Group in the joint venture.
"The joint venture, as discussed, was to be a government-to-government cooperation between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia involving an oil and gas project. Our role was to assist in the preparation of the documentation for the joint venture agreement," he said.
On Oct 30, 2024, Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah ordered Najib to enter his defence after ruling that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against him.
Najib, 71, faces 25 charges, including four counts of abusing his position to accept RM2.3bil in bribes from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
The hearing continues on Wednesday (April 23). – Bernama
