KUALA LUMPUR – The high court has rejected requests by Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in their criminal breach of trust (CBT) case, which involves alleged payments of RM6.6 billion to the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).
It was reported that high court judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin said the trial, which had been scheduled to finally begin this morning, cannot be continued.
He said the prosecution has yet to deliver all documents to the defence to enable Najib’s and Mohd Irwan Serigar’s lawyers to give their defence statements to the prosecution before trial begins.
He then ordered the trial to begin on November 14 without any further delays.
“The defence’s DNAA request is rejected. Please be ready (for trial) on November 14,” said Justice Jamil Hussin.
The judge noted that the next three months, from August to October, would be sufficient for the prosecution to deliver all documents to the defence. This would allow the defence to provide their statement to the prosecution before the trial starts in November.
According to Section 62 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act 2009, once the prosecution has provided the necessary documents to the defence, the accused must submit a defence statement to the prosecution before the trial commences.
It was reported that this is the second time Najib and Irwan Serigar have applied for a DNAA in this case. The high court rejected their first DNAA attempt on March 3 2022.
Najib and Irwan were charged in October 2018 for committing offences at the Finance Ministry’s complex in Putrajaya between December 21 2016 and December 18 2017.
They face six counts under Section 409 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, whipping, and a fine upon conviction.
They submitted a representation letter to the Attorney General’s Chambers in March 2022 to have the charges reviewed.
This letter was dismissed, leading them to submit another representation letter. The court also struck out their application for a discharge, not amounting to an acquittal for all charges.
The accusations involve payments to a subsidiary of International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC), Aabar Investments PJS, negotiated while Najib was the prime minister and finance minister overseeing 1MDB.
However, Aabar Investments PJS never received the funds from 1MDB, as the money had been syphoned off to a similarly named company, Aabar Investments PJS Ltd, created by fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho.
In 2017, IPIC pursued arbitration at the London Court of International Arbitration, seeking payment of US$5.78 billion (RM27.2 billion) from Malaysia. In 2018, Malaysia challenged this move, citing fraud.
In November 2022, the London court ruled that Malaysia could pursue its case against IPIC and Aabar Investments PJS.
In February last year, IPIC and its subsidiary, Aabar Investments PJS, agreed to pay US$1.8 billion to Malaysia as a settlement for the case. – July 22, 2024