DATUK Seri Najib Razak has been granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) over three money laundering charges involving RM27 million linked to SRC International Bhd.
High Court Judge K. Muniandy issued the ruling today after the prosecution failed to furnish the defence with hundreds of documents related to the trial, despite the charges being filed as early as 2019.
Muniandy, when reading his judgment, said the prosecution failed to show that they can proceed with the trial in the near future as documents necessary to support the charges have yet to be procured, gathered, and served on the defence.
The judge said that the DNAA order, which means the charges are dropped temporary, does not prejudice the prosecution as they are free to re-charge the former prime minister when they are ready.
"This case against the accused person has been pending in this court for a period of six years since the year 2019 and not an iota of witness testimony has been pursued with but only a plethora of postponements indicating that the prosecution is not ready with the prosecution of the case.
"Once the accused is charged in court, the charge cannot be hanging over his head for an indeterminate or indefinite period. That would be harsh and illegal,” he said.
Muniandy said once the accused is charged in court, he is entitled to due process of the law and must be accorded access to swift justice.
“The court should only issue DNAA orders "sparingly and grudgingly", but there was nothing to show that the prosecution can proceed with the case expeditiously in the immediate future, he noted.
On February 3, 2019, Najib, 72, was charged with three counts of receiving money totaling RM27 million from illegal activities through three of his AmPrivate Banking bank accounts, at AmIslamic Bank Berhad, Bangunan Ambank Group, Jalan Raja Chulan on July 8, 2014.
The charge is under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001 which carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment or a fine of RM5 million or both, if convicted.
Najib has been serving his sentence at Kajang Prison since August 23, 2022 after being convicted of misappropriating RM42 million of SRC International funds.
The High Court had previously sentenced him to 12 years in prison and a fine of RM210 million, and the decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court after dismissing Najib's appeal.
He filed a petition for a royal pardon on September 2, 2022 and the Pardon Board subsequently reduced the prison sentence from 12 years to six years while the fine was reduced from RM210 million to RM50 million. - June 20, 2025
