NAJIB Razak’s SRC International trial enters its 22nd day today, with the 39th witness – former SRC International board chairman Ismee Ismail – returning to the stand.

Ismee is expected to be cross-examined by the defence today over alleged minutes of a meeting between SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil and the former prime minister.

The meeting occurred on September 7, 2011, about a week after Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) disbursed its first loan of RM2 billion to SRC International.

Ismee told the court yesterday that Nik Faisal informed the SRC International board of the meeting on September 13.

It was at this meeting that Najib approved the deposit of RM1.5 billion into Swiss bank BSI Ltd and another RM300 million at Julius Baer Group in Hong Kong.

The money was a portion of KWAP’s first loan to SRC International, which was made out in August 29, 2011.

The defence objected to the prosecution tendering a copy of the minutes of the September 7 meeting, saying that Najib had refuted its authenticity, calling it a “fake document”.

Defence lawyers also pointed that the existence of the minutes were not noted by the company secretary and that the board never tabled it for deliberation.

The prosecution responded that the minutes was admissible under the Anti-Money Laundering Act or the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act. 

After deliberation, justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali ruled that the minutes should be marked ID, or for identification purposes, without being filed yet as evidence.

Ismee also told the court he eventually resigned as a director and chairman of SRC International’s board in 2014 because of “governance issues” brought about by the actions of then CEO Nik Faisal, the Kuala Lumpur High Court heard yesterday.

Ismee, who went on to become Tabung Haji CEO, said he tendered his resignation on May 6, 2014 and officially left the company on August 15, 2014.

“I resigned because I did not agree with the manner in which SRC International was managed by the then CEO, Nik Faisal, especially regarding the company’s accounts and finances,” he said.

Ismee, an accountant by profession, was appointed director with 1Malaysia Development Bhd in 2009. He, along with four others, was appointed to the board of directors of SRC International on August 1, 2011.

The other four were Nik Faisal, Suboh Yassin, Che Abdullah@Rashidi Che Omar and Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi. Nik Faisal is sought by the police and remains at large in Indonesia, according to reports.

Najib’s charges in this trial relate to the RM4 billion loan to SRC International made out in 2011 and 2012, for which he is accused of receiving RM42 million in his accounts in 2014 and 2015.

He faces three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money-laundering and one count of abuse of power.

Najib, 66, is represented by a dozen lawyers led by Muhammad Shafee Abdullah. Attorney-General Tommy Thomas leads the prosecution.

The Malaysian Insight brings you today’s proceedings live:

5.27pm: Judge Nazlan calls an end to proceedings for the day. It will continue with the same witness tomorrow morning at 9am.

4.35pm: Court resumes with Harvinderjit continuing his cross-examination of Ismee.

Harvinderjit asks whether a person acting as a representative of MoF Inc can be on the board of directors. Ismee says he doesn’t know.

Harvinderjit begins going through the amendment of Article 117 of SRC International’s memorandum and articles of association.

Ismee says SRC International had no other special advisers except for Najib.

4.09pm: Court takes a 10-minute recess at the request of the witness.

3.59pm: Harvinderjit begins going through Ismee’s witness statement. He asks Ismee to clarify points in the statement that read Nik Faisal was to be the link between the board and Najib, as adviser emeritus.

3.32pm: Ismee says he was not acquainted with Suboh Yassin, also on SRC International’s board of directors, prior to joining the company.

3.09pm: Harvinderjit asks whether Ismee was aware of a letter Nik Faisal wrote to the government asking for RM3.95 billion from KWAP. Ismee replies that he was unaware of such a letter.

Harvinderjit then asks him why he was chosen to join SRC.

H: Why you? 

I: I have no idea.

2.42pm: Court resumes with Ismee Ismail taking the stand to continue his cross-examination by Harvinderjit Singh.

H: When did you first come to know that you were selected to participate in SRC? 

I: I was told in 2011 that I would be involved in SRC by 1MDB members.

Ismee then says when he took the role, he was not briefed on SRC International. He says he was only briefed about SRC during a board meeting.

Ismee says he may have heard about SRC prior to his appointment, adding he was not briefed on SRC dealings.

12.20pm: Ismee says he cannot recall if Nik Faisal had authorised the incorporation of SRC.

Ismee says there was a resolution signed by the prime minister to appoint Nik Faisal as a director of SRC. 

Harvinderjit asks how directors were appointed in SRC. 

Ismee says that all directors are appointed by the prime minister by resolution

Harvinderjit: You are saying when you joined SRC, you saw the resolution that the prime minister had appointed Nik Faisal as SRC director? 

Ismee: It’s a resolution of the board of 1MDB.

Harvinderjit asks if the SRC directors were appointed by 1MDB.

Ismee says yes but they were made by shareholders’ resolution.

Harvinderjit charges there was nothing in the minutes to suggest that 1MDB made the resolutions to appoint SRC directors .

Ismee argues that the shareholders of a direct holding company may appoint the directors of a subsidiary company

Harvinderjit interjects, causing Sithambaram to tell the judge that the defence should not cut off the witness’ reply.

Court breaks for lunch. Session will resume at 2.30pm.

11.35am: Ismee says that in 2009, Tan Sri Nordin was CEO of 1MDB.

Harvinderjit asks about SRC’s RM20 million grounding grant. He asks if 1MDB would know about it. He asks Ismee if he knows who are Vincent Koh and Daniel.

Ismee says he knows that they were at 1MDB, but that he did not have direct dealings with any of the people mentioned.

Harvinderjit: In your mind, you were appointed as director of SRC to represent 1MDB? 

Ismee: It was not told to me, but it was my opinion that I was appointed by SRC to represent 1MDB.

Ismee says he never did ask who was the 1MDB corporate representative to SRC.

Ismee said that it was quite natural for him to think that he was appointed to represent 1MDB.

10.15am: Harvinderjit brings out a document detailing Ismee’s work experience.

They go over the page together. It shows that among others, Ismee was a forex trader at Shell.

Ismee says he held five or six positions at Shell. He was Tabung Haji CEO and director until 2016.

Ismee says all the minutes he has were from the SRC management.

Ismee says he has never met Najib in relation to SRC.

Ismee says that at SRC, it was the management who dealt with the shareholders.

Court takes a 10-minute recess.

10am: An argument breaks out between Harvinderjit and the prosecution Sithambaram, who tells Harvinderjit he is asking the witness questions and then cutting him off.

Harvinderjit denies doing that. Sithambaram says he is doing it and tells Harvinderjit to allow the witness to answer.

Ismee says he knew he had ID499 in his possession which was why he looked for it at home.

Harvinderjit asks how many SRC meetings the 1MDB CEO attended.

Ismee says maybe two in 2011.

9.20am: Harvinderjit Singh begins cross-examination of Ismee.

Harvinderjit asks Ismee when he was the first time he was questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

Ismee says it was in 2015, but he cannot recall the month.

He says he was questioned again in 2018.

Ismee says he had two or three sessions with MACC to prepare his witness statement.

Harvinderjit notes Ismee’s witness statement is only six pages long.

Harvinderjit asks if he was aware that that questions would be asked of him apart from his written statement.

Ismee replies yes. He says it is his second appearance as a witness in court. 

Harvinderjit asks him what he meant when he said yesterday that there were old investigations and new investigations.

He replies that old investigations were in 2015 before GE14  and new investigations were post GE14.

Harvinderjit asks how much his pre- and post-election statements differed.

Ismee says there was some difference but not much.

Ismee says that while recording his statement, he provided the minutes of SRC meetings, one of which was the document tagged ID499 which was not allowed to be submitted as evidence yesterday.

He says he had found this document in his briefcase at home sometime last year.

He says he was searching his home for documents related to SRC as MACC had instructed him to do.

He says he handed over to MACC other documents as well and that he had most of the board meetings’ minutes.

Ismee says he spoke to the other directors to compare the minutes and that Datuk Rashidi was among those he contacted.

Ismee says he found most of the documents in his briefcase and that he did not go through the minutes. He says he probably did not examine the last pages of the miinutes.

He doesn’t know whether the minutes were officially signed off.

He says ID499 is the minutes of the meeting between Najib and Nik Faisal. He says he did not attend the meeting.

He says the meeting took place on September 7, 2011 but he does not know where it was held.

Harvinderjit asks if he agrees that the minutes and ID499 were not prepared the same way. 

Ismee says the minutes are taken using a different format.

Harvinderjit says when the chairman signs off the minutes, he usually writes down the date with his signature. 

Ismee disagrees. He says that the chairman when signing off on minutes did not date his signature.

Harvinderjit asks whether the six days it took to prepare the minutes was the norm.

 Ismee says he usually liked to have the minutes on his table by within 72 hours of the meeting.

9am: The morning begins with former SRC International director Ismee Ismail back in the stand.

Prosecutor Ishak Mohd Yusoff proceeds with examination of the witness. 

He concludes examination. – June 11, 2019.