سقسي دعوا، كحاضيرن جهو لوو دالم مشوارت 1مدب تيدق مڠجوتكن
A former 1MDB company secretary told the High Court that he was not surprised over fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho’s presence in a company board of directors’ meeting 12 years ago.
Lim Poh Seng, who was secretary from 2009 to 2011, said that Low’s name was mentioned in the Sept 26, 2009 meeting minutes.
The court previously heard testimony from former auditor-general Ambrin Buang, who said he was told to remove Low’s name from the National Audit Department’s (NAD) audit report on 1MDB on grounds that it was a “sensitive issue” and to prevent the opposition from spinning the issue.
He said the other items removed from the audit report were two conflicting financial statements for 2014, a section on the issuance of Islamic medium-term notes, and another on the Islamic bonds’ secondary subscriber.
KUALA LUMPUR: A former 1MDB company secretary told the High Court that he was not surprised over fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho’s presence in a company board of directors’ meeting 12 years ago.
Lim Poh Seng, who was secretary from 2009 to 2011, said that Low’s name was mentioned in the Sept 26, 2009 meeting minutes.
Others who attended the meeting were former 1MDB chairman Mohd Bakke Salleh, directors Ismee Ismail, Azlan Mohd Zainol and Che Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, chief executive Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and company executive Tang Keng Chee.
Lim, who was testifying in the audit report trial of Najib Razak and Arul Kanda Kandasamy, added that during the meeting, the directors questioned Shahrol on a joint venture with PetroSaudi Holdings (Cayman) Limited.
“I was not alarmed over his (Low’s) presence,” he said when asked by ad-hoc prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram if he was taken aback upon seeing the businessman’s name in the company’s records.
Sri Ram: What was Jho Low’s role in 1MDB?
Lim: He was appointed as 1MDB adviser.
Former company investment director, Kelvin Tan had, in last month’s hearing, confirmed Low’s presence in the meeting. Tan was in charge of taking down the minutes that day.
Najib is standing trial for alleged abuse of power as prime minister and finance minister to obtain immunity from legal action and causing amendments to the finalised 1MDB audit report before it was tabled to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Former 1MDB chief executive Arul Kanda is accused of abetting him.
The court previously heard testimony from former auditor-general Ambrin Buang, who said he was told to remove Low’s name from the National Audit Department’s (NAD) audit report on 1MDB on grounds that it was a “sensitive issue” and to prevent the opposition from spinning the issue.
He said the other items removed from the audit report were two conflicting financial statements for 2014, a section on the issuance of Islamic medium-term notes, and another on the Islamic bonds’ secondary subscriber.
Cross-examined by Najib’s lawyer, Wan Aizuddin Wan Mohammed on whether Low and Abdul Aziz Mohd Akhir’s appointments as advisers were revoked by the company, Lim said the company did not make any decision to terminate them.
“This was based on the documents presented before me,” he added.
The lawyer then asked Lim on his relationship with Low, to which the witness told the court Low approached his company some time in 2008 to take minutes of a meeting of the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) steering committee. TIA was the precursor of 1MDB.
Lim said that prior to coming aboard on TIA, his company (B&M Consultancy Services Sdn Bhd) offered company secretary services to Low’s other companies.
“We no longer serve these companies,” he said.
To another question on whether the NAD had asked him for company records for 2009 to 2011, when conducting their audit exercise, Lim said the government auditors never contacted him.
“I was not the company secretary during NAD’s audit exercise (from 2015 to 2016),” he said, adding that Goh Gaik Kim took over the job after he resigned.
The hearing before High Court judge Mohamed Zaini continues tomorrow.
Sri Ram told the court that the prosecution will be calling Najib’s former principal private secretary Shukry Mohd Salleh to testify.
Source:
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