THERE has never been any evidence to show that former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was at AmIslamic Bank Bhd to commit the crime he was accused of, the Kuala Lumpur High Court was told today.
Given this, Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said the abuse of power charge the ex-prime minister was facing was defective.
“This is to show that the charges suffer from defects such as multiplicity and duplicity, which lead to ambiguity,” he said before beginning his submissions before Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah today.
One of the charges against Najib was that he allegedly used his position as prime minister, finance minister, and chairman of the 1MDB advisory board at AmIslamic Bank.
“He was never at the bank on that date. Why do the DPPs say he was there to ‘abuse’ his power?” Shafee asked.
He said Najib’s absence at the place where the offence was allegedly committed “confused the defence” and prejudice against Najib caused the 1MDB trial to last six years.
He also said the defence had submitted a total of 2,500 pages of arguments for Najib’s 1MDB corruption trial.
Najib, 70, is on trial for 25 charges in total: four for abuse of power that allegedly brought him financial benefit to the tune of RM2.28 billion and 21 for money laundering involving the same amount of money.
The former Pekan MP is charged under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act, which provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of up to five times the amount or value of the bribe, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, if found guilty.
For the 21 charges of money laundering, Najib is charged under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, which carries a maximum fine of RM5 million and imprisonment for up to five years, or both, upon conviction.
The hearing before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues tomorrow. – August 19, 2024.
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