THE High Court heard today that 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) decision to enter a joint venture with PetroSaudi International Ltd (PSI) was not influenced by a phone call between Datuk Seri Najib Razak and former 1MDB chairman Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh.
Najib’s defence counsel, Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin, argued that the actions and decisions of 1MDB’s Board of Directors (BOD) and management clearly indicated they had already agreed to proceed with the joint venture before the phone call took place.
He pointed out that records showed the BOD and 1MDB management had taken active steps to finalise the partnership with PSI, including appointing corporate representatives and opening joint bank accounts with the international oil and gas company.
Wan Azwan Aiman also denied allegations that the BOD acted under Najib’s direction as Prime Minister at the time, questioning the logic since the BOD had set various conditions before approving the joint venture.
He further highlighted that despite Mohd Bakke’s claim that the project would not have proceeded without the phone call, the Special Board Meeting Notice dated 25 September 2009 was specifically convened to approve the joint venture, thereby refuting claims that the decision was made only after the phone conversation.
The defence lawyer presented these arguments at the conclusion of Najib’s defence in the 25-count corruption trial involving RM2.3 billion of 1MDB funds.
Previous court proceedings revealed the phone call was initiated by fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, known as Jho Low, who asked Najib to speak to Mohd Bakke prior to the meeting to clarify the context of the Malaysia-Saudi Arabia government initiative.
When testifying in his defence on 20 January, Najib denied influencing the BOD’s decision, stressing that the board, composed of professionals, was responsible for deciding on the joint venture. He questioned why he was being blamed when he neither pressured nor forced the BOD to enter the deal.
Earlier, Mohd Bakke testified that Najib instructed the 1MDB BOD to avoid spending time reviewing the company’s past transactions and focus instead on the joint venture proposal with PSI.
This message was conveyed by Najib during a phone call after speaking with Jho Low at the 1MDB Board Meeting in September 2009.
The joint venture agreement later resulted in a debt of US$700 million arising from a fund transfer by 1MDB to Good Star Ltd, a company linked to Jho Low.
The trial before Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya will continue tomorrow. - October 23, 2025
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