Sent by PMO aide Wan Shihab to Tarek Obaid

This is the photo shoot that tells us all about 1MDB’s PetroSaudi deal.

Ranged together and grinning broadly to camera as they enjoy a summer holiday in the South of France on the luxury yacht Tatoosh (rented for $500,000 a week) are all the main players behind the joint venture.

From left to right are Prince Turki, the owner of PetroSaudi; Jho Low, the mastermind of the joint venture; Prime Minister Najib Razak, the man in sole charge of 1MDB; his all powerful wife Rosmah Mansor; the couple’s son, Nor Ashman; Tarek Obaid, the Director of PetrSaudi and Rosmah’s favoured daughter, Nooryana Najwa.

The picture was sent as a memento of the happy gathering by Wan Shihab, a special officer to Najib, to Tarek Obaid and Jho Low and (according to the data on the photo) it was taken during August 2009 as the plan to set up the joint venture was hatched.

Wow! up on deck on one of the world’s most enormous yachts!

It is one of a portfolio of pictures circulated round Jho Low, Prince Turki and Tarek Obaid in January the following year, thanks to the good offices of the Prime Minister’s aide after requests had been made in various emails.

It was only three weeks after this yachting liaison that Tarek Obaid’s fellow Director at PetroSaudi, the British businessman Patrick Mahony was over in New York to meet up with Jho Low and put the whole plan into effect with lightening speed.

By September 29th 2009 a billion dollars of borrowed public money had been wired over from 1MDB (sole signatory Najib Razak) supposedly to fund an oil exploration venture by the joint subsidiary 1MDB PetroSaudi.