THE prosecution’s ninth witness, former 1Malaysia Development Bhd CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, returns to the stand as former prime minister Najib Razak’s trial enters its 30th day today.

Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah will cross-examine Shahrol during the trial at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

The trial was adjourned last Thursday because of Najib’s eye problem.

Last Wednesday, Shahrol testified that about a week after a joint venture deal was signed between 1MDB and PetroSaudi International on September 25, 2009, US$85 million (RM255 million then) made its way into the bank account of PetroSaudi CEO Tarek Obaid.

Investigators later revealed that Tarek shared US$33 million with PetroSaudi director Patrick Mahoney.

During cross-examination, Shafee asked Shahrol “Christmas came a bit early that year?” to which the witness nodded in the affirmative.

Five days after the US$1 billion joint venture deal was signed between 1MDB and PetroSaudi International on September 25, US$300 million was paid to PetroSaudi Holdings (Cayman) Ltd and US$700 million to Good Star Ltd without the board’s approval.

Investigators later revealed them to be sham companies, with Good Star controlled by fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low.

Documents tendered to the court as evidence showed that Good Star paid Tarek US$85 million on October 5, 2009, five days after the shell company received US$700 million from 1MDB.

On October 20, US$33 million was transferred from Tarek’s account to that of Mahoney’s, documents tendered to the court showed.

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

Prosecutors have accused him of conspiring with Low to defraud the state investor.

Najib is represented by a dozen lawyers. Former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram leads the prosecution before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.

The Malaysian Insight brings you today’s proceedings live:

3.43pm: Sequerah calls time on proceedings today as he has a prior engagement.

He reminds the lawyers that tomorrow they will continue until 6pm.

Court is adjourned.

3.13pm: Shafee asks Shahrol about a proposition by PSI that 1MDB acquire a 4.2% stake in a French company known as GDF Suez, which is involved in energy, electrical, and gas with a 20% discount.

Shafee tells Shahrol this was another con deal. Shahrol agrees that in hindsight it was a sham deal as the numbers didn’t add up.

Shafee also suggests the 20% discount was illegal. Shahrol says he didn’t know that.

2.52pm: Court resumes session.

12.48pm: Court breaks for lunch.

12.38pm: Shahrol admits PSI was a vehicle for fraud and set up to take money from 1MDB to channel it elsewhere.

12.02pm: Shahrol talks about 1MDB taking possession of KLIFD and land in Sungai Besi. He says he does not remember the dates they were owned by 1MDB.

11.37am: Shafee brings out a MalaysiaKini report, which states that the court had reprimanded Najib over his Tg Piai trip. Shafee says the headline could be misleading.

Justice Sequerah clarifies that what he had said was that he had not found misbehaviour on Najib’s part. Shafee continues cross-examination.

11.35pm: Court is in session after a short break.

11.02am: Shahrol didn’t inform Najib about this but he did ask Jho Low.

Shafee asks why the board of advisers didn’t take it up with Najib himself. Shahrol says they were looking for a solution to close its books for that year.

Shafee suggests this was an attempt to sweep the real financial health of 1MDB under the carpet, to which Shahrol denies “absolutely not”.

11am: Shafee asks if Ernst & Young refused to sign off 1MDB’s auditor report because it failed to meet standards.

10.59am: Shahrol says he saw minutes where non-executive directors had a meeting with Najib and he had assured them that the relationship with PSI must be kept.

He wanted the PSI relationship to continue because of Najib.

10.57am: Shafee suggests that 1MDB gave Ernst & Young the murabaha agreement to show where the money went in 2009.

Shahrol agreed that this was a move to keep Ernst & Young from asking where the money actually went.

10.55am: Shahrol says he asked Jho Low, Patrick Mahoney and Casey Tang about the US$1 billion and where it went after Ernst & Young started asking questions.

10.35am: Shafee begins cross-examining Shahrol.

Shafee asks about the process where the US$1 billion invested in the 1MDB-PetroSaudi joint venture is turned into murabaha notes.

10.07am: Lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram wants to impose stricter bail conditions on Najib after his appearance in Tg Piai over the weekend despite being on MC for his eye infection.

Shafee says his client still has the infection.

9.52am: Najib enters the dock, proceedings begin. – November 4, 2019.