KPMG Malaysia’s managing partner Johan Idris testified at Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial today that he felt “intimidated” by the former prime minister. 

Last week, Johan said that Najib had “ordered” him to sign off on 1MDB’s 2013 financial statement. 

Today in court, he said he felt intimidated when asked by lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram during cross-examination about a meeting at Najib’s residence on Jalan Duta on December 15, 2013.

Johan said he was the sole KPMG representative allowed into the house for the meeting. At the time, KPMG had not signed off on the audit report for 1MDB’s financial year ending March 31, 2013. 

This was because 1MDB had not provided the information KPMG had been asking for since April 2013. 

Johan told the Kuala Lumpur High Court that after meeting with Najib, he (Johan) went home and typed out minutes of the meeting, which he later shared with some of his KPMG colleagues. 

He said he included in the minutes Najib’s “order” to KPMG to sign the audit report by December 31, 2013. 

Sri Ram: You were asked to confirm that the minutes do not show there was any pressure exerted by the accused Datuk Seri Najib upon you at this meeting, and you answered, yes, the minutes do not reflect it. My question is, it was you at ground zero on that day, was there pressure at all on you?

Johan: Yes, I put it as an intimidation.

Sri Ram: What was the nature of intimidation?

Johan: Well, intimidation for us to conclude and sign the audited financial statements of March 31, 2013.

Sri Ram: And from whom did this come?

Johan: Datuk Seri Najib. 

At this juncture, Najib’s lawyer Wan Aizuddin Wan Mohammed said the word “intimidation” had not arisen in any of Johan’s answers during cross-examination previously.

However, Sri Ram responded by saying that it would be for the defence to raise this in submissions, adding that they could not stop a witness from answering questions.

Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah suggested that the defence raise this in their submissions.

Last week, Johan told the trial that Najib, who is Pekan MP, had “ordered” him to sign off on the 2013 financial statement despite KPMG not receiving the documents it requested regarding the state investment firm’s US$2.3 billion (RM10.07 billion) overseas investments.

Reading his witness statement, Johan said that Najib, who was also finance minister and 1MDB’s sole shareholder, wanted the auditing firm to sign off on and close the financial statement for the year ending March 31, 2013, by December 31, 2013. 

The yearly financial statement would normally be signed off by its auditors within six months or by September 2013, but this was delayed as the audit firm was still seeking information from 1MDB on their purported investment in an offshore company, Brazen Sky Ltd. 

Johan, the prosecution’s 14th witness, said that 1MDB had furnished reports from BSI Bank on Brazen Sky, but claimed they were not sufficient for KPMG to come up with an audit report that was deemed “appropriate”.

Najib is standing trial for corruption over the misappropriation of RM2.28 billion in 1MDB funds.

He faces 25 charges – four for abuse of power and 21 for money laundering – for offences committed between 2011 and 2013. – May 10, 2022.