Jho Low lend me US$200,000 to buy house, Najib’s ex-aide tells court

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KUALA LUMPUR: Former special officer to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told the High Court here yesterday that fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low lend him US$200,000 without any loan agreement to buy a house worth of RM1.85 million in Kota Damansara in 2010.

Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin, 43, said the money was transferred into his Maybank account by Jho Low through Alsen Chance Holdings Limited.

“I approached many people including Jho Low for the money, and finally he (Jho Low) voluntarily lend me the money. I got the loan to temporarily bridge another loan while I tried to sell my old house which was also located in Kota Damansara,” he said when  cross-examined by Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah on the fifth day of the former premier’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption trial.

When asked by Muhammad Shafee whether he tried to get a loan from Bank Negara Malaysia or other institutions, the witness replied  “I couldn’t. I was not eligible”.

Amhari Efendi was also a director at ORB Solutions Sdn Bhd and also a director in Khazanah Nasional Bhd at that time, earning about RM75,000 per month.

Muhammad Shafee: Did the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission  (MACC) investigate you regarding this amount (US$200,000)? Was this a subject matter of the investigation?

Amhari Efendi: I declared it to the MACC. The commission recorded my statement.

Asked by Muhammad Shafee whether Amhari Efendi had mentioned about the (US$200,000) matter in his witness statement, the witness replied “No”.

Explaining further about the money that he loaned from Jho Low, the eighth prosecution witness said he never repaid the loan to Jho Low as he was not able to sell his old house.

“I told him I could transfer the old house under his name, however Jho Low said ‘take your time’,” Amhari Efendi said adding that Jho Low was a good lender.

On the issue of his travel ban, the witness said MACC had lifted his travel ban on October, last year, however the anti-graft agency had reimposed his travel ban on January this year.

“I have made an appeal to have the ban lifted as I want to travel overseas because some of my family members are abroad,” he said.

When asked whether police had investigated him or not, the witness said he was also subjected to a police investigation under commercial crime.

When asked about his experience while in the MACC lock-up, the witness said he slept well but on the floor.

“I was treated well. But the end (of the hall) was a bit haunted. (Hujung berhantu sikit),” he said which prompted laughter in the court.

Najib, 66, is facing four charges of abusing his position to corruptly obtain RM2.3 billion of 1MDB funds and 21 counts of money laundering related to the money.

The Pekan MP allegedly committed the four offences at AmIslamic Bank Berhad, Jalan Raja Chulan branch, Bukit Ceylon here between Feb 24, 2011, and Dec 19, 2014, and the 21 charges, between March 22, 2013, and Aug 30, 2013, at the same place.

The trial before Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues on Tuesday. — Bernama