Audio recording of 1MDB audit report coordination meeting replayed in court

The audio recording of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) audit report coordination meeting on Feb 24, 2016, which was chaired by former Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa, was replayed in the High Court here, today.

The recording, totalling two hour-and-forty five minutes in length was replayed when National Audit Department (NAD) audit director Datuk Nor Salwani Muhammad took the stand.

The fifth prosecution witness was recalled in the trial of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and 1MDB former chief executive officer (CEO) Arul Kanda Kandasamy over the alleged tampering of the 1MDB final audit report.

The recording was played at 2.50 pm and ended at 4.56 pm at the request of the prosecution.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib told the court that the rest of the recording, which is about 30 minutes left, would be played on the next hearing on Oct 12.

The audio recording was first played in court on Nov 20, 2019, when Ali took the stand as the fourth prosecution witness.

The presiding judge, Mohamed Zaini Mazlan, deputy public prosecutors, lawyers and Nor Salwani also referred to the final transcript of the recording while listening to the audio.

Nor Salwani, 53, in her previous testimony admitted in court to making a voice recording of the meeting by slipping in a voice recorder into the pencil case of NAD representative at the meeting, former NAD director Saadatul Nafisah Bashir Ahmad, without her (Saadatul Nafisah) knowledge just before the meeting commenced.

The witness testified that she only did that so that she will be able to prepare the minutes of the audit report coordination meeting, as she was not allowed to sit in that meeting.

Those who attended Feb 24, 2016, meeting were Arul Kanda, former Auditor-General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang, Saadatul Nafisah, Najib's former principal private secretary Tan Sri Shukry Mohd Salleh and Datuk Seri Mohamad Isa Hussain from the Treasury.

Previously, Ali had testified that during the coordination meeting which was held on the instruction of the former premier, there were four issues agreed upon to be removed from the 1MDB audit report, including two conflicting versions of the company’s 2014 financial report.

Najib, 67, was charged with using his position to order amendments to the 1MDB final audit report which was already ‘finalised’ by Auditor-General before the report was ‘finalised again’ and presented before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to avoid any action being taken against him, while Arul Kanda, 44, was charged with abetting Najib in making amendments to the report to protect the Pekan MP from being subjected to disciplinary, civil or criminal action in connection with 1MDB.

They were charged under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which provides a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of no less than five times the amount of gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.

-- BERNAMA