Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin said he borrowed the money from Low, better known as Jho Low, in 2012 as local financial institutions and his employer, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), had found him ineligible for the amount.
“I needed the money as a bridging loan to sell my existing house and purchase another property in Kota Damansara,” he said when cross-examined by lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
He said he did not repay the loan as he was unable to find a buyer for his old house.
“I tried to sell the property to pay him but could not,” he said. “I then offered to transfer the house to Low, but he declined.
“He only told me to take my time,” Amhari, who is the eighth prosecution witness, said.
He agreed with Shafee that Jho Low was a good lender as he had not threatened him or pressured him to return the money.
Amhari also told the court that he had purchased four pieces of property in Kuala Lumpur and Johor, besides inheriting a family house in Setapak.
He said he had earned RM75,000 a month from 2016 until the general election last year, although still a special officer to Najib.
He said he was paid RM25,000 a month by BNM before being seconded to work for Najib in 2008.
“I asked Najib many times since 2013 to be made a director of Khazanah Holdings, but I still remained with him as his special officer,” he said.
He said he was made a director in 2016, upon which he drew a monthly salary of RM55,000 plus another RM20,000 as director of ORB Solutions Sdn Bhd, a company set up to promote Najib’s 1Malaysia brand.
He added that he was not subject to criminal prosecution or forfeiture of property or cash when the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) detained him for investigation last year.
When Shafee suggested that his testimony in court was to implicate Najib, Amhari disagreed.
He also disagreed with Shafee’s suggestion that he had been coerced into telling the court what MACC wanted him to reveal.
He likewise disagreed when Shafee said he had failed to tell investigators about the US$200,000 loan as it was not reflected in his witness statement.
He said he was remanded for seven days, during which time he was treated well by MACC despite having to sleep on the floor.
He added that he was also subjected to a police investigation that included the alleged offence of money laundering.
Najib is facing 25 charges of money laundering and abuse of power over alleged 1MDB funds in his AmBank accounts.
He is accused of abusing his position to obtain RM2.28 billion in bribes in February 2011 and December 2014.
He is also said to have transferred RM2.28 billion in illegal funds to his bank accounts and to have subsequently used the money.
The hearing continues before trial judge Colin Lawrence Sequerah.