Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, former CEO of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), testified in court from August 17 to 19, 2026, denying any deal or immunity related to his removal as a defendant in a US$5.64 billion civil suit filed by 1MDB on May 7, 2021 [1, 2, 3, 4]. Shahrol was originally named alongside former prime minister Najib Razak and other former executives but was dropped from the suit without explanation or any agreement, he said.
Shahrol told the court, "I did not strike any deal with the government to be removed from the suit and was not given any explanation for the decision" [1]. During cross-examination on August 19, senior defense lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah suggested Shahrol had been rewarded for favorable testimony against Najib, saying, "I’m putting it to you, because you were so comfortable with the undertaking of the prosecution that you will not be touched as long as you sing like a bird for the prosecution" [5]. Shahrol flatly denied this, replying, "No, I did not [make a deal]" [5].
Shahrol also addressed his relationship with fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, known as Jho Low. He denied treating Jho Low as if he was Malaysia's prime minister, stating, "I disagree [that I treated Jho Low as if he was the prime minister of Malaysia]" [6]. However, he admitted communicating indirectly with Najib through Jho Low during his 1MDB tenure [6, 7, 8]. He testified that Jho Low drafted the minutes for a key 1MDB Board of Advisors meeting held October 16, 2009, which Najib signed despite Jho Low’s absence from the meeting. Shahrol said, "Jho Low produced the draft of the minutes" [9].
The civil suit, initiated by 1MDB and its subsidiaries, seeks to recover alleged misappropriated funds totaling US$5.64 billion. The case targets several former executives and directors of 1MDB, among them Najib Razak and Shahrol Azral. Some defendants have since been removed from the suit, including Shahrol, though no reasons have been publicly provided [1, 2, 3, 4].
Testimony and cross-examination involving Shahrol Azral continued through August 19 with several lawyers participating, including G.K. Ganesan and Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah [1, 6, 5, 3, 4]. The trial is ongoing.
