Jho Low's attendance in 1MDB board meeting in question due to contradicting minutes

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 27): The attendance of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, at a 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) board meeting on Sept 26, 2009 came into question when the then auditor-general (AG) found contradicting meeting minutes from the strategic investment fund.

Former AG Tan Sri Ambrin Buang told High Court today there are two versions of meeting minutes in relation to the board meeting dated Sept 26, 2009 — one recorded Low's attendance, while the other does not contain Low's attendance.

The board meeting on Sept 26, 2009 was when 1MDB approved the investment into a joint venture with PetroSaudi International Ltd.

Ambrin said the meeting minutes National Audit Department (NAD) obtained from 1MDB's premises initially contained Low's attendance.

"NAD thought the attendance by Jho Low, who does not have any position or role in 1MDB's meeting at that time, was something not right," he said.

However, Ambrin said 1MDB did not allow the AG to make copies of the document at that time.

"To verify this, I invited all 1MDB board of directors at the time, including Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh, to NAD office for an interview," he said, adding that Bakke had verified that Low attended the board meeting on Sept 26, 2009.

Ambrin also said Bakke brought along a copy of meeting minutes that contain Low's name during that interview with NAD.

"But NAD decided that it (Bakke's copy) cannot be used for audit purpose, because the document was obtained from third parties," he said.

To further verify Low's attendance, Ambrin said he subsequently met with Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, who succeeded Bakke as 1MDB chairman, and the fund's chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy, to demand for those meeting minutes for audit purposes.

"After a few requests for these minutes, 1MDB only provided a certified minutes. However, the minutes did not contain the name 'Low Taek Jho' on the list of meeting attendance. NAD has informed 1MDB's company secretary about this and they stated that this copy (which does not contain Low's name) is the correct one," he said.

Ambrin said Tan Sri Shukry Salleh, the private secretary of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, had demanded to exclude paragraphs that mentioned Low's attendance in the 1MDB board meeting to avoid it being spun by the opposition.

Ambrin said Low's attendance at 1MDB board meeting may have influenced the board's decision.

"Nevertheless, I had agreed that this issue to be dropped from the audit report because NAD audit team was not able to verify through documentary evidence whether Low actually attended the 1MDB board meeting or not, because there are two meeting minutes that were different in terms of attendance," he added.

For more stories on the 1MDB audit report tampering trial, click here.

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