He also said misleading information was given to the directors.
Ismee Ismail said there were high expectations for them to successfully execute a joint venture with PetroSaudi International (PSI).
“Due to the urgency, we tried to fulfil the G2G (government to government) agreement and make sure the joint venture was ‘air-tight’,” he told ad hoc prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram during examination-in-chief.
Sri Ram had questioned Ismee on Najib’s phone call to then 1MDB chairman Mohd Bakke Salleh on May 22, 2009, the day the directors were having a meeting.
Ismee had told the court yesterday that Najib ordered them to expedite the US$1 billion PSI joint venture, and that 1MDB paid US$1 billion in 2009 for a 40% stake in the project while PetroSaudi held the remaining 60%.
Sri Ram also asked Ismee whether the 1MDB board members could be likened to “toothless tigers” as they had failed to protect the company’s interests and advise Najib.
“No doubt the defence will raise this matter with you later,” he told Ismee.
In response, Ismee said he wished to elaborate on his answers to the court.
“I am not here just as one of the former directors. I am also representing my ex-colleagues.
“Each of us may have different views on Jho Low (Low Taek Jho) but I believe none of us took instructions from him.
“In my witness statement, I described Jho Low as ‘the man behind the scenes’ but from my perspective, he was managing the relationship between 1MDB and Abu Dhabi,” he said, adding the Penang businessman was close to individuals from the Middle East.
Ismee also said he had the impression that 1MDB directors had been “used” to make the company’s transactions look legitimate.
He said this was what he found out after investigations started in 2018 until the 1MDB-related cases were brought to court.
“Misleading information was given to us,” he said.
Najib is standing trial on 25 counts of money laundering and abuse of power over the alleged misuse of 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.
The hearing before High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues on Dec 13.
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