KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been ordered to enter his defence against 25 counts of criminal charges involving RM2.27 billion in funds from sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
In ruling that the prosecution had established a prima facie case, judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah said the court found sufficient grounds for Najib, 71, to address the allegations of power abuse and money laundering.
“In all circumstances, based on available evidence and upon conducting a maximum evaluation of the prosecution’s case, the court finds that the prosecution has successfully proven each ingredient of all offences,” Lawrence said during proceedings at the high court here today.
Najib’s counsel Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah told the court that his incarcerated client has elected to give evidence on oath for his defence against the charges, thus allowing him to be cross-examined by prosecutors.
The judge set December 2 for the beginning of the defence’s case after Shafee argued that the initial date of November 18 would not provide the defence with sufficient time to confer with their client and witnesses.
Ex-finance minister Najib, who has been serving a prison sentence since August last year after he was found guilty in the former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International corruption case, was accompanied in court by his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansoor.
Outside the court complex, nearly a hundred supporters had gathered from as early as 7am this morning to show their solidarity with Najib, who was formerly Pekan MP.
Among those spotted in the crowd were Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhammad Akmal Salleh, with many other supporters braving the scorching heat to await the former Umno president’s exit from the compound.
In September 2018, Najib was charged with four counts of power abuse and 21 money-laundering charges in relation to monies from 1MDB. He was accused of committing the offences at AmIslamic Bank Bhd’s Jalan Raja Chulan branch in Bukit Ceylon, here, between 2011 and 2014.
The 1MDB hearing began in August 2019, with the prosecution closing its case on May 30 this year after summoning 50 witnesses to testify before the court, including former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz as well as 1MDB’s former chief executive officers Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and Mohd Hazem Abd Rahman.
If found guilty of the abuse of power charges against him, framed under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, Najib faces a maximum 20-year imprisonment term and an RM10,000 fine or a fine five times the amount of money solicited, whichever is higher.
For the 21 money laundering charges under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA), Najib could be hit with a maximum RM5 million fine, up to five years in prison or both.
Besides the graft case in question, Najib is also facing accusations in other criminal cases, such as the RM6.6 billion International Petroleum Investment Company criminal breach of trust case and an RM27 million money laundering case involving SRC International funds.
In March last year, he was acquitted of abuse of power involving an audit of the government entity, with the charge against him claiming that he had used his position as then-prime minister to order amendments to the report before it was presented to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee in 2016 to prevent any action against him.
1MDB’s former CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy was also charged and subsequently acquitted in the case after the high court here found that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against the duo.
Last week, Najib had “unreservedly” apologised for the 1MDB fiasco, which is said to be one of the world’s largest financial scandals.
While he maintained his claim of innocence, he admitted that he should have acted differently when he was alerted to issues within 1MDB. – October 30, 2024