NAJIB Razak amended the company constitution of Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), the precursor to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), to enable him take control of the entity soon after becoming prime minister in 2009.

Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) assistant registrar Rafidah Yahaya said the TIA constitution was amended on September 2, 2009, five months after Najib was sworn in as prime minister on April 3, 2009.

The amendment meant Najib had effective control over 1MDB, which was by then owned by the Minister of Finance Inc (MoF), Kuala Lumpur High Court heard today.

The clause was added under Article 117 of SRC International’s memorandum and articles of association, which effectively required all matters, including financial guarantees and policy direction, required the approval of the prime minister.

Najib signed a document on the change of TIA ownership to the Minister of Finance Inc on September 4, 2009.

That document, and another changing the name from TIA to 1Malaysia Development Bhd, were handed over to the CCM on September 25, 2009.

In October 10, 2009, Lodin Wok Kamaruddin was made the new 1MDB chairman after Mohd Bakke Salleh had resigned.

TIA, formed in 2008, was the brainchild former Terengganu MB Ahmad Said.

Rafidah told the court that Tuanku Permaisuri Terengganu Tengku Rahimah Putri Almarhum Sultan Mahmud, Mohd Bakke, Ismee Ismail and Shahrol Azral were appointed as the initial directors of TIA.

Rafidah tendered 151 documents today relating to 1MDB, Mastika Lagenda Sdn Bhd, Genting Sanyen Sdn Bhd and Tanjong Energy Sdn Bhd.

She will tender 26 more documents tomorrow, after which she will be cross-examined by the defence.

Najib faces 25 charges: four counts of abusing his position to gain for himself RM2.3 billion and a further 21 counts of money-laundering relating to the same amount.

The 66-year-old faces up to 20 years imprisonment if found guilty.

He is represented by a dozen lawyers led by Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.

Gopal Sri Ram, a former Federal Court judge, is leading the prosecution before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah. – August 29, 2019.