KUALA LUMPUR: Allegations have emerged suggesting that Bank Negara Malaysia analyst Adam Ariff Mohd Roslan colluded with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in connection with his report on the money trails of 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB).
Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, made the allegation during the trial over the misappropriation of 1MDB’s RM2.3 billion, which was said to have entered the former prime minister’s personal bank accounts.
Adam Ariff, however, denied the accusation and stated that he did not “collude” with the MACC when preparing the report showing the flow of 1MDB funds into Najib’s bank account.
He emphasized that he was seconded to the anti-graft agency to assist in tracing funds from 1MDB, and pointed out that he insisted that the funds ended up in Najib’s bank account, denying claims that the MACC’s investigating officer told him to “lie” in his report.
Muhammad Shafee also suggested that Adam Ariff’s secondment to the MACC since 2018 had made it difficult for him to remain impartial in conducting his analysis.
Muhammad Shafee: From 2018 until now. I’m putting it to you that you have become MACC, your mentality has become MACC, and you have not remained independent.
Adam Ariff: I disagree.
During the proceedings on Friday (Dec 8), Muhammad Shafee repeatedly tried to challenge the money trail analysis conducted by Adam Ariff on the billions of ringgit which entered Najib’s private bank accounts in AmBank, suggesting that Adam Ariff lacked all the necessary bank documents to prove that the funds in Najib’s accounts could be traced back to 1MDB and its subsidiaries.
The witness countered by stating that “All the bank documents which (Najib) had referred to in the 1MDB trial were sufficient to show that money belonging to 1MDB or 1MDB’s subsidiaries had actually ended up in his private bank accounts.”
Najib, 70, faces four charges of using his position to obtain bribes amounting to RM2.3bil belonging to 1MDB and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
The trial before Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues on Dec 15. – Bernama
