1MDB audit barred from probing Najib's personal accounts, Tony Pua tells court
The Auditor-General's interim report stated the audit scope was strictly limited to 1MDB, the High Court was told on the fourth day of the civil suit trial.
KUALA LUMPUR - The High Court here was told today that the Auditor-General's interim report stated the audit on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was limited to the company alone, with no investigation or inquiry allowed into the personal bank accounts of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Former Public Accounts Committee (PAC) member Tony Pua, 54, said he was aware of the report's contents as he had read it while serving on the PAC during that period.
He said this while reading his witness statement on the fourth day of the trial of 1MDB's US$5.64 billion civil suit against Najib and six other individuals, before Judicial Commissioner Mohamad Redzuan Idrus.
Pua, the plaintiffs' second witness, said the Auditor-General had to conduct the audit by reviewing only 1MDB's audited financial statements and supporting documents furnished by the relevant auditors, following a marked lack of cooperation from the company.
"1MDB failed to produce many important documents, including but not limited to investment agreements and bank statements of its overseas subsidiaries. The Auditor-General's audit scope was also strictly limited to 1MDB and no investigation or inquiry was allowed into Najib's personal bank accounts," he said.
Pua said that following the interim report, then second finance minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah urged critics of 1MDB to stop making baseless allegations as, according to him, the Auditor-General's internal report on the 1MDB audit found no "evidence of wrongdoing".
Earlier, the court allowed an application by Najib's lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah to strike out several paragraphs of Pua's witness statement on grounds that they contained personal opinion and hearsay. The struck-out portions largely referred to media reports on the 1MDB scandal during Najib's administration, including articles published by Sarawak Report.
On Dec 26, 2025, the High Court sentenced Najib, 73, to 15 years' jail and a RM11.4 billion fine after he was found guilty of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.3 billion in 1MDB funds.
1MDB and four of its subsidiaries filed the civil suit on May 7, 2021, naming Najib along with former company officers Terrence Geh Choh Heng, Casey Tang Keng Chee, Vincent Beng Huat Koh, Radhi Mohamad, Kelvin Tan Kay Jim and Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil as defendants.
The writ states that the plaintiffs claim, among other things, that all the defendants committed breach of trust, breached statutory duties, abused their power and conspired to misappropriate 1MDB funds. The trial continues on Monday.
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