KUALA LUMPUR – The prosecution in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MBD) trial told the high court here that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) analyst Adam Ariff Mohd Roslan’s testimony on the flow of money in 1MDB was based on his analysis on the former prime minister’s bank statements as well as other documents.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib said the prosecution never called Adam Ariff, 29, who is the 47th prosecution witness, to testify as an expert witness.
“He is a witness of fact. Failure to cross-examine would amount to acceptance of the facts stated by him. Simple as that,” said the prosecutor.
The matter was raised after Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told the court that Adam Ariff was not an expert witness, making his testimony not relevant.
“My Lord, I’m wondering, in the light of the witness’ admission that he is not an expert witness, whether this is an appropriate time to submit that what he has testified is not relevant, because he has expressed his opinion in a report.
“He’s now saying he only analysed and that analysis can be undertaken by anyone with a great deal of patience…in Section 45 of the Evidence Act 1950, only expert witnesses can express opinions,” said the lawyer, adding that time would be saved if the court were to find that Adam Ariff is not eligible to testify on the 1MDB money trail as the investigating officer could have done it.
Earlier, the witness himself confirmed that he is not appearing as an expert witness in the trial, but is testifying as an analyst in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) 1MDB task force.
At this juncture, judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah interjected that such arguments on the Evidence Act can be submitted at the end of the prosecution’s case when submissions are made.
After a short break, Shafee then continued to cross-examine Adam Ariff.
During the cross-examination, the witness stood by his money trail report even though the lawyer kept contending that Adam Ariff did not have sufficient documents to come to a conclusion on the issue of a sum of US$20,000,000 credited into Najib’s account at Ambank, specifically AmPrivate Banking-MR ending with 694.
When asked by the lawyer, Adam Ariff confirmed that MACC did not furnish him with any documents in relation to Riyad Bank, which was held under the name “HRH Prince Faisal bin Turki Al-Saud/HRH Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud”.
The Riyad Bank account transferred the funds to Najib’s account within one to three days after Good Star – an entity that belonged to fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho – transferred the funds to Prince Faisal’s account.
In his money trail report for the Good Star phase, Adam Ariff stated that a sum of US$20,000,000 was credited into Najib’s account in two tranches from the Good Star account in Riyad Bank on February 24 and June 14, 2011.
Shafee then proceeded to ask the analyst if the conclusion can be made in a scientific way, in which the analyst denied.
When the lawyer asked if the opinion was based on “intelligent guesswork”, Adam Ariff insisted that he had sufficient evidence prior to and after the transaction.
Najib, 70, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes amounting to RM2.3 billion belonging to 1MDB and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
The trial before justice Sequerah continues tomorrow. – October 10, 2023