THE National Audit Department’s (NAD) audit of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was limited to the company’s accounts and did not include any examination of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s personal accounts, the High Court heard today.
Former Public Accounts Committee (PAC) member Tony Pua told the court that auditors were only allowed to review matters related to 1MDB and were not permitted to make inquiries into Najib’s financial records.
Pua, who was the Damansara MP at the time, said the audit was also carried out under difficult circumstances as 1MDB failed to provide several important documents requested by the auditor-general.
He said because of the limited cooperation from the company, the audit relied mainly on 1MDB’s audited financial statements and documents provided by its external auditors.
Pua was testifying in a civil suit filed by 1MDB and several of its subsidiaries against Najib and six former company officials, over claims of breach of trust, abuse of power and misuse of funds.
In his witness statement, Pua said Najib, who was the prime minister and finance minister then, ordered the auditor-general to conduct an independent review of 1MDB’s accounts on March 4, 2015.
The move came after growing public attention over the company’s financial dealings, particularly following reports and allegations surrounding 1MDB.
Pua said Najib had also announced that the auditor-general’s report would be submitted to PAC for review.
However, he said MPs later raised questions over the independence of the audit as 1MDB was wholly owned by the Finance Ministry, which was headed by Najib, who was also chairman of the company’s advisory board.
“Members of Parliament questioned whether the audit could be independent given that 1MDB was fully owned by the Finance Ministry and Najib was the minister as well as chairman of the advisory board,” he said.
Pua said no answers were provided to the concerns raised in Parliament at the time.
He told the court that PAC had earlier written to NAD in February 2015 requesting an audit into 1MDB.
Among the issues examined were the source of RM2 billion used by 1MDB to repay loans, the company’s investment deal with PetroSaudi, and whether funds placed in the Cayman Islands had been returned to Malaysia.
NAD began its audit on March 10, 2015, while PAC started its proceedings into 1MDB on May 19 that year.
Pua said PAC members later met representatives from 1MDB’s auditors in June 2015, where it was agreed that relevant documents would be submitted to PAC through the Finance Ministry.
However, by early July that year, PAC had yet to receive documents from either 1MDB or the ministry, although it had received an interim report from the auditor-general, which was not made public.
The lawsuit, filed on May 7, 2021, names Najib, former 1MDB financial director Terrence Geh Choh Heng, former executive director Casey Tang Keng Chee, former chief investment officer Vincent Beng Huat Koh, former chief operating officer Radhi Mohamad, former investment director Kelvin Tan Kay Jim and former chief investment officer Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil as defendants.
The plaintiffs claim the defendants breached their duties, abused their positions and acted together to misuse 1MDB funds.
During today’s proceedings, Najib was also allowed to remove parts of Pua’s witness statement after his lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah argued that certain sections were based on hearsay and Pua’s own views.
Judicial Commissioner Mohamad Redzuan Idrus allowed the application.
The hearing continues on Monday. – August 6, 2026
