AMHARI Efendi Nazaruddin continued to plead ignorance today to suggestions by Najib Razak’s lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah that Low Taek Jho played a big part in forming the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), which later became 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

The former special officer to the former prime minister kept telling the high court in Kuala Lumpur that he did not know the details suggested by Shafee in the ongoing 1MDB corruption trial.

Najib, 66, is on trial for four counts of power abuse to enrich himself with RM2.3 billion from 1MDB and 21 counts of money-laundering.

Shafee suggested that Low, the fugitive businessman better known as Jho Low, had named U2 lead singer Bono in a proposed list of TIA foundation committee members.

Shafee also said the foundation was to be chaired by the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, and was to include committee members such as Queen Rania of Jordan, Rosmah Mansor and the Irish rock singer.

“In actual fact, most of the people on the list did not know about TIA?” Shafee asked Amhari during cross-examination.

“This is the work of a con-man,” Shafee said, to which Amhari replied that he did not know of such a list or whether it was a con job by Low.

Shafee was earlier referring to a letter dated May 4, 2009 by former TIA CEO Shahrul Ibrahim Halmi to Najib, who was then prime minister.

An appendix said Sultan Mizan was to be the first chairman of the board of advisers, which will include Najib as prime minister cum finance minister.

It further stated that others on its board would include Kuwait’s former deputy prime minister Sheikh Mohd Sabah Al Salim and LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault.

Shafee suggested the names were added to impress the Terengganu authorities, to which the witness replied that he did not know.

“When Bernard Arnault’s name cropped up, didn’t it strike you as a con job?” Shafee asked, to which Amhari replied that he did not know.

Shafee later tendered documents showing that TIA was owned by Terengganu MB Inc (MBI) and that the entity was later involved in the issuance of RM5 billion Islamic medium-term notes, undertaken by AmBank with the assistance of legal firm Shearn Delamore & Co.

By May 2009, Terengganu MB Ahmad wanted suspend bonds issuance as it was done without representation by Terengganu MBI, Shafee said, referring to the documents.

Then TIA CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi proposed that the federal government take over the company and rename it Malaysia Development Berhad.

Amhari did not dispute the evidence tendered.

Najib is on trial for four counts of power abuse to enrich himself with RM2.3 billion from 1MDB and 21 counts of money-laundering.

The 66-year-old is represented by a dozen lawyers led by Shafee while Gopal Sri Ram, a former Federal Court judge, leads the prosecution.

Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah presides. The trial continues tomorrow. – September 17, 2019.