PAC 1MDB rushed to fork out US$1 billion to form a joint venture with PetroSaudi International so that a member of the Saudi royalty could witness the signing ceremony, former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Halmi said.

"There was supposed to be a signing witnessed by one of the Saudi royals, who will be arriving in Kuala Lumpur around that time.

"So, we had wanted to actually meet that particular dateline," Shahrol told the Public Accounts Committee last year.