1MDB management met in London to discuss additional RM1 billion funds, court told

The Kuala Lumpur High Court was told today that the 1MDB board of directors held a meeting in London on May 16, 2011 to discuss an agreement regarding the additional RM1 billion 1MDB-PetroSaudi investment joint venture under the Murabaha financing scheme.

Former 1MDB company secretary, Goh Gaik Kim, 54, who was also present at the meeting, along with Che Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, Ismee Ismail, Jasmine Loo Ai Swan and Ashvin Jethanand, said arrangements to hold the meeting at Hilton Hotel, London, were made by the 1MDB management.

The 17th prosecution witness was reading from her witness testimony at the trial of former prime minister Najib Razak for charges of embezzling 1MDB funds worth RM2.4 billion.

Referring to the meeting’s minutes dated May 16, 2011, she said that before the meeting began, Loo who was the lawyer for 1MDB, handed three sets of documents to her for safekeeping: the Board of Directors’ Resolution, the Ordinary Shareholders’ Resolution and the Preferred Shareholders’ Resolution.

“The documents related to the investment of an additional RM1 billion under the Murabaha Financing Agreement with 1MDB Petrosaudi. All the documents were already signed by the 1MDB board of directors and Najib. However, the matter (the documents) was not discussed during the meeting,” she said.

She testified that at the meeting, several important matters were discussed including the presentation by Loo about the Murabaha financing scheme.

Goh, who is now the company secretary for TRX City Sdn Bhd, said she returned to Malaysia the following day after the meeting.

“I received the itinerary of the visit. As I recall, there were some events held before and after the board of directors’ meeting, but I only attended the board of directors’ meeting,” said Goh, who served as company secretary for 1MDB from March 31, 2011 before resigning on April 1, 2016.

During proceedings in 2019, former 1MDB CEO Shahrol told the court that Najib had approved an additional RM1 billion in funds in 2011 under the 1MDB-PetroSaudi joint venture.

Najib, 68, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB and 21 charges of illegal money laundering involving the same amount.

The trial before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah will resume tomorrow.