Najib, who appeared uncomfortable, initially told ad-hoc prosecutor V Sithambaram that it was not a fair question to ask him.
Sithambaram said it was fair, bearing in mind that he was then holding the “most powerful position” in his capacity as prime minister and finance minister.
“I don’t know,” Najib then said, under cross-examination by Sithambaram.
Najib told the High Court that prosecution witness and former SRC International director Suboh Md Yasin had said that the signatures of former CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil and himself had been forged in the company and bank’s documents.
The defence is contending that certain documents had been forged and “manipulated”. It applied to the court to bring a foreign handwriting expert to verify whether Najib’s signature had been forged.
Najib also disagreed with Sithambaram’s suggestion that the sending of RM3.6 billion of SRC money overseas was a “scam”.
Sithambaram: Did you find out why the money went out without the knowledge of the shareholder of SRC, which is MoF Inc?
Najib: No
The ad-hoc prosecutor pointed out that MoF Inc, under Najib, was the sole shareholder and suggested that the money had left the country with his knowledge.
Najib disagreed.
SRC International had obtained a RM4 billion loan from Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP) between August 2011 and February 2012, for which the government acted as guarantor.
The fund was meant to help realise the government’s National Energy Policy. The remaining RM400 million was kept locally for the company’s operational expenses.
Najib said he wanted to bring the RM3.6 billion back when he knew that the money was not being utilised to achieve the policy.
The hearing continues tomorrow before High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.
Najib is facing six charges of money laundering and criminal breach of trust in the transfer of RM42 million to his account from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB.
He is also accused of abusing his power as prime minister by giving government guarantees on SRC International’s RM4 billion loan from KWAP.