Jho Low drafted 1MDB FAQ for Najib's aides but covered up his involvement

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 4): When the 1MDB fiasco hogged the limelight and started drawing unwanted attention, fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (pictured) provided a set of answers to "frequently asked questions" (FAQ) to the group of people who handled all dealings related to 1MDB.

Low, who was seen as the unofficial adviser to Datuk Seri Najib Razak, stated in the FAQ that he was not involved with 1MDB, although he was actually the mastermind behind the dealings, according to Najib's former special officer Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin at the witness stand today.

Amhari, 43, testified that he was among the few individuals aside from Najib and his late chief private secretary Datuk Azlin Alias who received documents related to the financial woes in debt-laden 1MDB.

The following are the documents which Amhari said he has kept in his possession despite Low's instruction to destroy them after each of their secret discussions or meetings:

i) A document to address concerns in 1MDB including its balance sheet in 2014-2015.

ii) An update on the proposed 1MDB-Aabar US$6 billion loan and its repayment procedure in February 2013.

iii) A memo to brief PMO on 1MDB in 2015-2016.

iv) A memo on 1MDB rationalisation plan in 2015 comprising change of board members, issues on International Petroleum Investment Co PJSC (IPIC), PetroSaudi and Aabar, as well as government guarantees to 1MDB loans.

v) An FAQ on 1MDB, including the outstanding sum of 1MDB loans, the difference between letter of support and letter of guarantee, status of investment managed by Brazen Sky Ltd, why 1MDB has not satisfied the RM2 billion outstanding loan to Maybank, and 1MDB's initial public offer (IPO).

vi) 1MDB rationalisation plan by Low in 2014-2015 to sell all of 1MDB's assets and liability and to close down the company. One example is to sell Bandar Malaysia to proposed SPV Sg Besi Development Sdn Bhd.

vii) A note in 2014-2015 on to explain:

why 1MDB loans were made in US dollars

why save funds in the Cayman Islands

who is Low, his role in 1MDB, and

how 1MDB can help Malaysia (Low wanted to assert that he has no role in 1MDB, despite him being the main schemer of 1MDB matters).

(viii) A document from Low underlining his plan for 1MDB's rationalisation which Amhari received three weeks after Azlin's death in April 2015.

Low's plan contradicts those of then 1MDB-CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy, who had his own idea of how the rationalisation plan should work. At the time, Low wanted to convince Najib to follow his recommendations, and Amhari was to act as a mediator between Arul Kanda and Low.

ix) A summary of 1MDB's energy IPO, the role of CIMB Investment Bank in the IPO, plans to repay RM2 billion owed to Maybank, RHB's RM5.5 billion bridging loan, and Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd's compliance over the RM2 billion Contingent Equity Obligation.

Low underlined for Amhari and Azlin to work closely with the investigative bodies and the authorities, in order to align a positive image on 1MDB at the time.

Amhari, who is the eighth prosecution witness in the 1MDB-Tanore trial, continues his explosive witness statement before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah after the lunch break.

Najib is charged with 25 counts of money laundering and abuse of power involving billions of ringgit allegedly siphoned from 1MDB.