FORMER prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has filed an application before the Court of Appeal seeking permission to introduce fresh evidence in his attempt to overturn convictions linked to the multibillion-ringgit 1MDB scandal.
The application, submitted last week by legal firm Shafee & Co, was filed under Section 61 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 and Rule 7A of the Court of Appeal Rules 1994.
The move forms part of Najib’s wider appeal against his conviction on 25 charges involving abuse of power and money laundering tied to RM2.28 billion in 1MDB funds transferred into his personal AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.
In legal proceedings, “fresh evidence” refers to material discovered after a trial has concluded. To be admitted, the evidence must satisfy strict legal thresholds established under the landmark English case of Ladd v Marshall, including proving that the evidence was previously unavailable during the original trial and carries substantial relevance to the outcome of the case.
According to Malay Mail, Najib’s latest application seeks to introduce evidence connected to fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, widely known as Jho Low, as well as former 1MDB legal counsel Jasmine Loo.
While Jho Low was never called by prosecutors to testify during the trial, Jasmine Loo emerged as one of the prosecution’s most significant witnesses and underwent extensive cross-examination by the defence.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib confirmed awareness of the application when contacted by local media.
The Court of Appeal has not yet fixed hearing dates for Najib’s appeal as both prosecution and defence continue awaiting the written grounds of judgment from Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, who presided over the original trial while serving as a High Court judge.
On December 26, Sequerah found Najib guilty on four charges of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering linked to the movement of 1MDB funds into the former premier’s accounts.
The court sentenced Najib to 15 years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of RM11.387 billion after convicting him on all charges.
Sequerah ordered that the prison sentence would commence in 2028 after the completion of Najib’s existing jail term in the separate SRC International case.
For the 21 money laundering charges, Najib received five years’ imprisonment for each count alongside an order to pay a recoverable sum amounting to RM2.08 billion.
Najib is currently serving a reduced sentence in the SRC International case after the Federal Territories Pardons Board in January 2024 halved his prison term and reduced his fine to RM50 million.
His current imprisonment term in the SRC case is scheduled to conclude on August 23, 2028.
The latest court application marks another significant development in the long-running legal battle surrounding the 1MDB scandal, widely regarded as one of the largest financial corruption cases in Malaysian history. - May 29, 2026
