KUALA LUMPUR: A former special officer to Datuk Seri Najib Razak today revealed how his then boss, along with Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and their children had flown to the south of France, Greece and Italy for all expenses paid holidays and to be entertained by Saudi royalty.
The trips, according to Najib's former special officer Datuk Wan Ahmad Shihab Wan Ismail, were all arranged by Low Taek Jho @ Jho Low, who is now being finger pointed by the former prime minister as the cause of all his headaches in the 1Malaysian Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.
Wan Ahmad Shihab gave a glimpse of how the couple enjoyed their cruises along the French coastline in luxury yachts and meeting Hollywood stars, when testifying in Najib's 1MDB trial.
The 48-year old, who started working with Najib since 2003, said he first got to know Jho Low during Najib's official trip to Washington DC sometime in 2007.
He said Najib's stepson Nor Ashman Razak was also in the delegation and they stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel while in the US capitol.
It was at the hotel lobby where Ashman introduced Jho Low to him.
Wan Ahmad Shihab said sometime in Aug 2009, Jho Low called him to say that Najib and his family would be holidaying in Southern France on the invitation of a Kuwaiti prince and an individual known as Sheikh Hamed.
"He told me that I had been appointed as an accompanying officer during Najib's holiday onboard the RM Elegance yacht.
"I later got a confirmation of the planned trip from Najib and he instructed me to make all the necessary arrangements," he said, adding Rosmah, Nor Ashman, Nooryana Najwa and Riza Aziz were among those listed to travel as part of the delegation.
Others in the 20-odd delegation included Najib's friend Tan Sri Bustari Yusuf and one of his children, their maids and household staff.
The trip on Aug 15, 2009, he said, was paid for in full by the Kuwaiti prince.
"We flew there in a government owned jet (ACJ319) from Kuala Lumpur to London before going on to Cote D'Azur, Nice, France.
"Upon arrival we were taken onboard the RM Elegance and greeted by the Kuwaiti prince and Sheikh Hamed.
"I don't know what their relationship was but they seemed very cordial to each other," he said.
Wan Ahmad Shihab said after a day or two of crusing along the coastline of Southern France, Najib informed him that they needed to board another yacht where a Saudi prince known as Prince Turki was waiting for him.
(Prince Turki is the co-founder of oil services company PetroSaudi which is linked to the 1MDB scandal. He was among several royal, ministers and investors arrested in 2017 during a Saudi purge against corruption.)
He said after boarding the yacht, they were greeted by Prince Turki and a man dressed in shorts who introduced himself as Tarek Obaid.
(Tarek Obaid has previously been revealed as the sole person who had caused numerous transactions which enabled US$180 million of 1MDB money to be siphoned off,)
"I was later called to snap some photographs of Najib and his family with the others on the yacht.
"It was then I realised that Jho Low was also there. He had been on the yacht all along."
Wan Ahmad Shihab said Jho Low contacted him again in mid 2010 and told him that Najib had been invited for yet another holiday onboard a yacht owned by a Saudi prince.
This time, the former prime minister and his family, would be taken on a cruise along the Greek and Italian coast onboard a vessel called Golden Odyssey.
He said Najib and his family flew to Athens onboard the same government jet on July 28, 2010.
"We arrived in Athens before boarding the Golden Odyssey and it was then I noticed that Bustari and a few other of Najib's friends were already there.
"They had arrived in a commercial flight a day earlier," he said, adding Rosmah's friend known as Natasha also joined them later.
Wan Ahmad Shihab said Jho Low contacted him again in 2013, this time to inform that Najib had been invited to yet another holiday in Southern France onboard a yacht called Topaz which was owned bu Sheikh Mansour Zayed Al Nahyan.
Topaz is the same yacht reported to have been bought by using US$140 million of 1MDB money.
The trial before High Court Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah involves Najib being accused of misappropriating RM2.3 billion of 1MDB funds.