PUTRAJAYA: Former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng Chong Wa told the High Court he first met fugitive Jho Low around 2008 or 2009.
Ng, subpoenaed as the 25th defence witness at the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial on Thursday (April 24), added that it was then he learned about setting up a sovereign wealth fund.
However, he could not recall whether Low approached him first.
Lead defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah asked, "Would it be correct that it was Low who approached you to get to Goldman Sachs?"
Ng responded; "The process regarding client adoption within Goldman Sachs, in my recollection, involves engaging potential clients.
"So, I would say we're always looking for potential clients. I can’t remember who approached whom, but there was a mutual process involved."
Ng said he heard rumours about setting up the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), which later became 1MDB.
"Around that time, there were rumours about setting up a sovereign wealth fund. At that point, it was for the state of Terengganu," Ng said, adding it was his first time meeting Low.
He testified before Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
Ng denied being charged in the US court for conspiring with Datuk Seri Najib Razak in connection with 1MDB.
Muhammad Shafee asked Ng whether he or others, like Tim Leissner and Jho Low, were charged with conspiring with the former prime minister in the US.
Ng replied; "I don’t believe so."
In 2018, Leissner, Goldman Sachs' former Southeast Asia head, pleaded guilty to conspiring with Low. Low remains a fugitive.
Ng was convicted in a New York court in April 2022 for aiding in the embezzlement of 1MDB funds and faces a 10-year prison sentence. He is expected to be extradited to the US to face further charges related to the case.
On October 30 last year, Justice Sequerah ordered Najib to enter his defence after ruling 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.
