PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Razak informed the High Court that he confronted the fugitive entrepreneur Low Taek Jho regarding his extensively reported opulent lifestyle.
The former prime minister provided testimony indicating that he was cognizant of Low’s reputation at the time, as tales about Low’s lavish expenditures on properties and artworks were prevalent.
News articles revealed that Low – recognized also as Jho Low – invested significant amounts in a penthouse located in New York, a mansion in Beverly Hills, and artworks by Monet and Andy Warhol.
Najib expressed discomfort with Low’s lifestyle and addressed it directly.
“He (Low) consistently claimed that he was making these (purchases) on behalf of Sheikh Mansour (bin Zayed Al Nahyan). That was his rationale to me,” Najib stated during cross-examination at the RM2.28bil 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial on Thursday.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Mustaffa P. Kunyalam implied that Najib, being at the “top authority” level, could have probed into the validity of Low’s assertions.
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Najib countered that such an inquiry would entail engaging with another government, as Sheikh Mansour was the sibling of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
The former premier refuted the implication that he purposefully evaded uncovering the truth about Low.
DPP Muhammad Mustaffa: You were turning a blind eye because you did not want to acknowledge the evident.
Najib: I disagree. That is the reason I confronted him.
On October 30, the High Court mandated Najib to present his defense against four charges of leveraging his position to secure RM2.28bil in rewards from 1MDB’s assets and 21 charges of money laundering associated with the same figure.
The proceedings are ongoing before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah this afternoon.