KUALA LUMPUR – Two men accused of embezzling at least US$1.8 billion (RM8.5 billion) from the sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) went on trial at the Swiss Federal Criminal Court today.
Tarek Obaid and Patrick Mahony are expected to plead not guilty in the trial that is expected to take place throughout April.
Swiss news agency Keystone-ATS reported that the lawyers representing one of the accused requested for the proceedings to take place behind closed doors.
The duo are former managers of PetroSaudi – a Saudi oil exploration company linked to 1MDB – and have been accused of embezzlement, allegedly orchestrated by fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low.
“The allegations cover a period at least from 2009 to 2015 and constitute the offences of fraud on a commercial basis, aggravated criminal mismanagement, and aggravated money laundering,” according to the charges.
The court was told that after the joint-venture deal was signed between 1MDB and PetroSaudi, some US$700 million from 1MDB was transferred to a Swiss bank account linked to Low, with tens of millions ending up in the hands of the defendants and PetroSaudi.
The prosecution added that the two accused allegedly diverted US$830 million, which was transferred by 1MDB supposedly for an “Islamic loan” over two years after the joint venture.
Some of the embezzled funds were purportedly used to buy jewellery, hotel stays, fine art and a super yacht, and helped finance the film The Wolf of Wall Street.
Meanwhile, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, 70, was sentenced in 2020 to 12 years in jail and a RM210-million fine for misappropriating RM42 million of former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.
He began serving his jail sentence in 2022 after the Federal Court upheld his sentence and conviction.
However, in February this year, the Pardons Board announced its decision to discount Najib’s jail sentence to six years and reduce his fine to RM50 million. – April 2, 2024
