Najib succeeds in bid to strike out Jho Low reference in 1MDB suit

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has granted permission for Datuk Seri Najib Razak to strike out a portion of a witness statement that linked him to businessman Jho Low, also known as Jho Low. Judicial Commissioner Mohamad Redzuan Idrus ruled that the court would not consider the relevant part of paragraph 20.4 of the statement from former 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) CEO Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi.

Shafee made the request while Shahrol Azral was reading his witness statement during the lawsuit against Najib and five others. Earlier, Shahrol Azral objected to the paragraph, stating that it implied Low was acting as a proxy for Najib, which could only be true if he had heard it directly from Najib. Lawyer G.K. Ganesan, representing the fifth defendant, Kelvin Tan, also raised a similar objection.

The plaintiffs, 1MDB and its subsidiaries, filed the lawsuit on May 7, 2021, accusing the defendants of various wrongdoing, including breach of trust, breach of statutory duties, abuse of power, and conspiracy to misappropriate 1MDB funds. In today's hearing, 1MDB withdrew its claim against former CFO Radhi Mohamad. The parties agreed to a consent judgment, discontinuing the suit against Radhi without the option to file a new one. The proceedings will resume on Monday.