KUALA LUMPUR — The RM6.6 billion criminal breach of trust (CBT) case against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and ex-treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah will finally proceed to trial next year.
This comes despite the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) not yet having decided on the second batch of representation letters from the duo, who were jointly charged in October 2018 over accusations of using government funds to pay the International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic).
The latest attempt at submitting representation letters to the AGC came after Najib and Irwan’s initial representation, filed in March last year, was dismissed by the AGC.
The high court had also previously struck out the pair’s application for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) for all six charges.
The charges were framed under Section 409 of the Penal Code for CBT by a public servant or agent read together with Section 34 of the same code, which provides for a maximum of 20 years jail, whipping and a fine if found guilty.
Accused of having committed the offences at the Finance Ministry complex in Putrajaya between December 21, 2016 and December 18, 2017, it is believed that the pair had submitted the fresh representation letters to the AGC due to high-level government talks between Malaysia and Abu Dhabi.
In February, it was reported that Ipic and Aaabar Investments PJS (Aabar PJS) have agreed to pay US$1.8 billion (RM8.1 billion) to the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MoF Inc) and sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
This came after a London judge in November gave the go-ahead to Malaysia to press its case against Abu Dhabi’s state-owned Ipic and Aabar PJS for their role in the global 1MDB financial scandal.
In the courtroom today, Datuk K. Kumaraendran, representing Irwan, requested judge Datuk Mohammad Jamil Hussin to set a date for the trial to begin sometime early next year.
He submitted that his client has suffered in several ways due to the prolonged period since the duo pled not guilty to the charges brough against them in 2018.
“As of today, it will be almost five years since my client (Irwan) was charged. He has been unable to leave the country for all these years while the charges hanging over his head have caused him psychological stress and rendered him unable to proceed with any career advancements.
“I would like to request the learned judge to consider setting a trial date (for) early next year,” Kumaraendran said.
In response, Najib’s counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said that while his client has no issue with setting an early trial date, clashes might occur with the ongoing 1MDB trial against his client.
After deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi requested for the case to begin after Hari Raya celebrations in April next year, judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin fixed for the trial to take place on 13 dates in June and another 17 days in July next year. — September 15, 2023