HIGH COURT judge Datuk Colin Sequerah has granted a 10-minute break and would be reading his judgement for another 90 minutes. He ordered Datuk Seri Najib Razak to be brought back to court at 3pm after performing his Friday prayers at the Kajang Prison.
According to reports in The Edge, the judge cited the SRC International Sdn Bhd case where the finding of the Arab donation was not accepted by the court.
Sequerah agreed that Najib should be barred from raising similar defence.
"The Arab donation defence was incapable of belief. The accused is estopped from bringing it up again, as this was raised before a superior court where the decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal and Federal Court.
"This is an unbelievable tale and a tale that surpassed even those from the Arabian Nights and a concoction bereft of any credibility."
"In order to dispel the notion, this court had also done an independent finding” and found that the claim of Arab donations is unbelievable, Sequerah says, ruling that the gratification received by Najib has not been rebutted and the defence “failed to raise reasonable doubt of the charges of abuse of power”.
The long-awaited verdict today in the principal criminal trial is linked to the multibillion-ringgit 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, with the former prime minister facing the possibility of further years behind bars.
The trial concerns some RM2.28 billion allegedly siphoned from the state investment fund into Najib’s personal bank accounts.
Najib, now 72, is charged with four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering. A guilty verdict would add to the six-year jail term he is currently serving following his conviction in the SRC International case, which involved RM42 million linked to a former 1MDB subsidiary.
His original 12-year sentence in that case was halved, while his fine was reduced from RM210 million to RM50 million.
If convicted in the 1MDB trial, the court will have to decide whether any new prison terms should run concurrently or consecutively, a determination with major implications for the length of time Najib would remain incarcerated. If acquitted, he would still return to Kajang Prison to continue serving his existing sentence. - December 26, 2025
