黑料社

This Week in 1MDB: Najib allegedly gifted a fancy watch and Jho Low likes his Milo on the rocks

Well, well — another week, another legal overtime dime in the on-going case of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) versus former Prime Minister Najib Razak.

If you鈥檙e anything like us, you鈥檝e probably read more about this trial in the last year plus than you have of your email inbox, and something about the day-to-day laundry list of charges and accusations is just maybe making you glaze over, like a glistening Jho Low under the hot sun.

Not to worry, we鈥檝e taken the week鈥檚 most salacious, pertinent and random details, and digested them into bite-sized tidbits so you can keep up with only the good stuff.

鈥淪orry鈥 and also, 鈥測ou鈥檙e welcome.鈥

Party-mode Jho!
Party-mode Jho!

First thing鈥檚 first — Malaysia鈥檚 High Court heard more details this week of the elusive Arab donor, initially named as a multi-million-dollar benefactor to the Yayasan 1MDB Trust Fund. Turns out checks were indeed written, but no one ever cashed them.

Kinda like bringing a fire extinguisher to a blaze, but using it as a stool instead, amirite?!

Former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halim told the courts that the at-large fugitive financier slash shiny human profiterole, Jho Low, brought four checks to him way back in September 2010. Low is alleged to have given explicit instructions to keep the checks but not to actually do anything with them. Each one was purported to be written out to the tune of US$25 million.

Some might call it vision boarding (?), while others may just wonder what the point is in calling it a 鈥渄onation鈥 if it鈥檚 just a piece of paper.

If you鈥檙e the prosecution, you鈥檒l argue that the former PM and Jho Low were just covering their wing-tipped tracks with some 鈥渟ham documents.鈥

Potato, poh-tah-toe; tomato, that鈥檚 some bravado!

Having left the company by 2013, Shahrol told the courts that during his time, he was made aware that Red Granite Pictures, Scorsese鈥檚 bank-roller for Wolf of Wall Street, run by Najib’s stepson Riza Aziz, had received money that was allegedly siphoned off from 1MDB.

Surprised? Well, if you take into account that Red Granite partners Riza and Joey McFarland had most successfully previously before making their foray from nowhere into hundred-million-dollar films鈥 not really.

The defense objects, calling the testimony 鈥渉earsay.鈥 Mkay.

Hey, wanna know something totally unsurprising about the unofficial King of the Friendzone Miranda Kerr鈥檚 ex-boyfriend? Apparently, Jho Low鈥檚 was Milo ais, aka Milo on ice, aka that drink that your diabetic uncle won鈥檛 stop ordering at the mamak, despite his raging glucose levels and the articles you keep forwarding him.

Surprised? Not really. If we鈥檙e giving (alleged!) zero f*cks over siphoned off billions, what鈥檚 a little chocolate flavored sugar water between friends? It can鈥檛 always be Cristal, bbz.

Shahrol鈥檚 testimony also alleged that Najib was on the receiving end of some very generous gifts from PetroSaudi International (PSI) during a meeting between PSI鈥檚 former CEO, former PM Najib and Jho Low at the Four Seasons in London.

At the time, PSI co-founder Tarek Obaid, is . When asked to characterize the watch, Shahrol described that 鈥渋t looked expensive.鈥

According to the former CEO, the Saudis were looking to partner with Malaysia in order to finance the building of navy ships, and listen up kids 鈥 that kind of deal doesn鈥檛 happen exchanging Swatches.

If you鈥檙e into irony, bathos, and the derision of our collective moral fibers, you might also enjoy knowing that in addition to the alleged billions that the fat cats behind 1MDB are accused of siphoning off, Najib also of RM216,000 (US$51,500) to sit on the fund鈥檚 advisory board.

According to Shahrol, 鈥渢he amount was fixed by Datuk Seri himself in his capacity as the advisory board鈥檚 chairman.鈥

One man鈥檚 (alleged!) abuse of power is another man’s vertical integration, kids.

Low鈥檚 name was ubiquitous in more alleged intrigue at 1MDB: The former CEO also claims that the elusive former yacht-dweller also when it came to the fund鈥檚… shall we say … “questionable” dealings.

鈥淔or each talking points document or action plan and emails that I received from Jho Low, he always instructed me to ensure those documents are destroyed with the reason that they contain very confidential and sensitive documents and can be misused to threaten Datuk Seri Najib鈥檚 position politically if it falls into the wrong hands.鈥

Shahrol added that there might have been documents which he had overlooked and failed to destroy, aka RECEIPTS, and we are here for it.

Spill that tea, and take 鈥榚m down like a political Tekashi 69.

And that concludes this week鈥檚 foray into some of the juicier highlights of Najib鈥檚 on-going 1MDB trial, where he is currently facing 25 of the 42 charges currently lodged against him. Prosecutors are alleging money-laundering and abuse of power, but we鈥檙e mostly here for the gratuitous details on our favorite missing bao, Jho Low.

Jho, come home!! We鈥檙e so ready for that welcome party.

 




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