LOW Taek Jho told an AmBank relationship manager to delete chat logs of their text conversations on her BlackBerry in early 2015, months before the authorities raided the bank to seize documents related to alleged misappropriation of public funds, the court heard today. 

Low, better known as Jho Low, was one of the bank and Joanna Yu’s biggest clients, the latter told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today. 

During cross-examination, defence counsel Harvinderjit Singh went through a BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) chat log dated March 3, 2015. 

The lawyer asked Yu whether Low had sent her a message instructing her to clear all her chat logs.

“Yes, but I didn’t clear them because I didn’t know how to,” she said.

Records of her conversations with Low remained on her phone, which was later seized by Bank Negara during a raid on AmBank’s Raja Chulan branch in Kuala Lumpur on July 6, 2015.

The central bank raid followed the publishing of a Wall Street Journal article on July 2, 2015, in which sources were quoted as saying investigators had believed funds related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) flowed into Najib Razak’s account. 1MDB once owned SRC International.
 
Yu, however, denied claims she had passed details of her communications with Low to WSJ journalists Tom Wright and Bradley Hope. She also said she has not read their book, Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World.

Harvinderjit asked whether this was on purpose, to which Yu smiled and replied “yes”.
 
Harvinderjit then asked Yu if back then, she had thought former SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil had been taking instructions from Low with regard to Najib’s current accounts. Nik Faisal was the mandate holder of the accounts.

Harvinderjit: Nik Faisal has a subordinate role to Jho Low, wouldn’t you say?

Yu: I don’t think I’m in a position to say who is subordinate… We could only do account transactions as directed by Nik Faisal.

Yu, however, said she did refer to Low as “boss” in a text conversation with Nik Faisal. Nik Faisal’s whereabouts has yet to be ascertained, although he is believed to be in Indonesia, according to reports.

The cross-examination later focused on Low’s behaviour under pressure.

Harvinderjit: Was Jho Low a person who reacts to things rather than plans things out? 

Yu: Errr… I guess I would say yes. 

Harvinderjit: With (regard to) the accounts being overdrawn and all the last-minute transactions; could you say that Jho Low was unprepared?

Yu: I guess so, but they didn’t know when the accounts would be overdrawn.

Yu had testified last week that she did not conspire with Low to defraud SRC International.

Defence lawyers had previously suggested that bankers worked with Low, possibly with the help of SRC International senior executives, to pilfer the government-linked entity.

Najib’s charges are linked to RM4 billion in loans issued to SRC International in 2011 and 2012, for which he is accused of receiving RM42 million in his personal accounts in 2014 and 2015.

The 66-year-old was charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money laundering and one count of abuse of power. – July 25, 2019.