After so many months of delay in trial as Shafee Abdullah wasted time on insignificant matters, today the star witness Zeti Akhtar Aziz took her stand. It has been explosive so far.
Zeti denied Najib's longstanding lie that his bank account opening in Ambank was at the advice of Zeti. It can't be the role of the Bank Negara Governor to be advising on individual bank account opening.
Zeti was aware of the funds moving in and out of Najib's account through bullshit letters issued to Najib, which claimed that the monies were "gifts". Ambank kept BNM informed of the movement. Zeti's only excuse, Ambank didn't lodge a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR).
It can't be Ambank or Zeti or Shamsiah were so stupid that they accept this Nigerian scam type of letters as genuine. The only logical conclusion we can make is that the PM Office was so powerful, they could do nothing but to accept Najib's bullshit.
By 2014, the shit in 1MDB got too much, Zeti can't keep quiet anymore. She was making noise direct to Najib. Najib never responded.
By 2015, Zeti started moving against Najib. It can't be that she received information only in 2015 about the billions stolen by Jho Low in 2009. She informed both Khalid Abu Bakar of PDRM and Abu Kassim of MACC.
Zeti also met with Ambrin Buang in March 2015 who was doing an audit on 1MDB and she disclosed to him as to what happened in 1MDB in 2009. Even Ambrin Buang ultimately could not remain strong enough to name Jho Low as the beneficiary of billions stolen in 2009 through Goodstar.
BNM MACC raid on Ambank in July 2015 after a task force was formed by Gani Patail. The raid uncovered more scam-type letters written to Najib to justify the dubious transfers. BNM also discovered letters purportedly written by Ambank to BNM but never received by BNM. #CoverLine
By end July 2015, Kleptocrat Najib strikes back with brutal force using Ali Hamsa and Khalid Abu Bakar. Task force by Gani Patail disbanded, Gani Patail and UMNO Coup Leader Muhyiddin dismissed. Zeti and Abu Kassim subdued. Apandi Ali ruled 1MDB not guilty. Power of PMO!
Zeti closed the case by imposing a RM59 million fine on Ambank. At that time in 2015, they never disclosed this quantum. Ambank shareholders effectively paid the fine through deduction of profits in the company that belonged to them.
Najib never responded to Zeti's letters about 1MDB in 2014 and Zeti says that it was "Not normal". Of course Kleptocrat Najib won't reply as he was the thief in 1MDB.
Zeti's excuse was that it was Ambank's responsibility to check the validity of the claims made in scam-type letters produced by Najib gang and Ambank failed in that duty. Technically she is correct. Nobody wanted to bell the powerful cat Najib Razak at his peak of power.
Zeti claims that nobody in her family received 1MDB money. She is likely to use technical reasons to say so. Expect heavy grilling from Shafee Abdullah on this and many more of her testimony today.
Moral of the story from this thread: The PMO is too powerful and nothing can be done when the sitting PM steals.
No institutional reforms are forthcoming but if I am an honest PM inheriting a corrupt machinery, I will use the unlimited powers of PMO to clean the country first before balancing the powers of PMO. But I will not retain corrupt people to fight corruption.
Please follow the live trial here and support @theedgemalaysia journalists by subscribing. 24liveblog.com/live/232651289…
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