KUALA LUMPUR: Former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy was uncertain of the value of the company's "investments" or if they even existed, the High Court here was told.
Former Petaling Jaya Utara MP Pua Kiam Wee, better known as Tony Pua, said this while testifying as the plaintiff’s second witness in the US$6.59bil civil lawsuit filed by 1MDB against Arul Kanda and former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah.
Pua, 52, who was appointed as political secretary to then-finance minister Lim Guan Eng in 2018, said he could say this with certainty because he attended the meeting with 1MDB representatives to determine the financial status of the sovereign wealth fund.
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"After GE14, the new minister (Lim) had a meeting on May 22, 2018 with representatives of 1MDB to determine its financial status. I also attended this meeting.
"When asked about 1MDB’s investments, Arul Kanda claimed that all financial matters were handled strictly by chief financial officer Azmi Tahir and he was uncertain as to what the value of these ‘investments’ were or whether they even existed in the first place,” Pua said in court on Tuesday (Sept 17).
He said Lim then issued a media release on the outcome of the meeting.
Pua added that in June 2018, 1MDB terminated Arul Kanda's employment with immediate effect on the grounds of breach of contract and fiduciary duty as CEO, a position he had held since 2015.
Asked by Arul Kanda’s lawyer Sanjay Mohan if he had asked for the 1MDB board of directors to be investigated, Pua said: "I believe so."
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In May 2021, 1MDB filed a lawsuit against Mohd Irwan and Arul Kanda over an alleged breach of trust and conspiracy that resulted in US$1.83bil in losses related to the company's investment in 1MDB-Petrosaudi Ltd, which was later converted into the Brazen Sky Limited investment, said to be recoverable from the Bridge Global Fund.
It also alleged that both defendants committed breach of trust and conspiracy by misappropriating US$3.5bil in company funds paid to Aabar Investments and US$1.265bil paid to International Petroleum Investment Company on May 9, 2017.
The plaintiff is seeking US$6.59bil (RM28.14bil) in damages from both defendants for these violations and an additional RM2.9mil from Mohd Irwan related to the extension of the employment agreement.
The trial before Judicial Commissioner Datuk Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan continues on Wednesday (Sept 18). – Bernama
