Spending spree, Jho Low's role detailed at Najib's trial

A bomb scare, a credit card spending spree to the tune of millions of ringgit, and fugitive financier Jho Low's direct involvement with Najib Razak's personal finances.

The former premier's first of five trials has not been short of drama throughout this month as proceedings enter their final phase.

Currently in the dock for seven charges of corruption, power abuse and money laundering of SRC International's funds, Najib spent his 66th birthday this week in court.

SRC, a former unit of state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), had received RM4 billion (S$1.33 billion) in loans from civil servant pension fund KWAP, the court heard. The loans were guaranteed by the Finance Ministry, when Najib was the finance minister.

Of this sum, RM42 million of SRC funds was then channelled into Najib's personal accounts. The prosecution detailed this month how it was used for private spending including purchase of designer items, luxury jewellery, and hotel stays that amounted to RM3.3 million.

The hearing was briefly adjourned yesterday after a bomb scare at the courthouse led to an emergency evacuation. The proceedings continued after lunch, scrutinising the BlackBerry chats between witness Joanna Yu, a former AmBank employee, and Low regarding management and transactions of Najib's bank accounts.

It was revealed that Low already had a long relationship with AmBank, as "one of the bank's major clients", the witness said.

Low, who was present at Najib's private home when the latter set up bank accounts, was able to authorise banking transactions, Ms Yu told the court. Former SRC chief executive Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil was the mandated person managing Najib's private accounts but if he was unavailable, Low would be the go-to man, Ms Yu said.

Both Low and Nik Faisal's whereabouts are unknown.

Low was described as Najib's manager and problem solver, witnesses who had direct contact with the fugitive said.

Often, Low would dispense instructions and alerts on upcoming transactions that needed to be approved by the bank. It even boiled down to getting the bank to allow a credit card purchase of a Chanel watch in Hawaii back in 2014, according to Ms Yu.

According to the New Straits Times, Najib's text messages, which were read out in court on Monday, read: "My platinum cards are not going through Jho. Can you call AmBank Visa and Mastercard right away? Thanks."

The witness Ms Yu and another AmBank employee Daniel Lee were asked to leave their jobs in 2015 after news broke that 1MDB monies had gone into Najib's private accounts for his personal use.

Najib's two credit cards with AmBank had a combined spending limit of RM3 million. His last drawn salary as prime minister and lawmaker was RM78,000 a month.

The trial is scheduled to end on Aug 15 with Najib's second trial of 25 charges of money laundering and corruption involving RM2.28 billion of 1MDB funds to be heard on Aug 19.

However, both sides are appealing to have the case postponed yet again to allow for the completion of the SRC trial.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 26, 2019, with the headline Spending spree, Jho Low's role detailed at Najib's trial. Subscribe