THE Kuala Lumpur High Court today said that former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's power abuse and money laundering charges were valid and not defective.
Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah said Najib was neither misled nor prejudiced regarding the offences.
"I find the charges fulfil all the legal criteria under the Criminal Procedure Code.
"I do not find Najib to have been "misled" by the charges, " the judge said.
Najib, 71, is facing four charges of abusing his position to obtain RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds at the AmIslamic Bank Berhad branch on Jalan Raja Chulan, Bukit Ceylon, between Feb 24, 2011, and Dec 19, 2014.
Najib is charged under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act and can be punished under Section 24(1) of the same act.
The former finance minister faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of either five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
Najib is accused of committing money laundering offences at the same bank between March 22, 2013, and Aug 30, 2013.
All these charges are under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act, which provides for a maximum fine of RM5 million and imprisonment of up to five years, or both, upon conviction.
The prosecution closed its case on May 30, after 235 hearing days going back to Aug 29, 2019, with 50 witnesses testifying.
Among the key witnesses called to testify were former 1MDB chairman Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh, former chief executive officer Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, and former 1MDB general counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan.
Sequerah also said there was no apparent motive for the key prosecution witnesses to testify against Najib in the 1MDB financial scandal.
He noted that the defence had earlier argued the former prime minister was made a scapegoat in a larger 1MDB fraud orchestrated by others.
Recently, Najib issued an apology for all that transpired during the 1MDB financial scandal.
He asserted his innocence, claiming he was deceived by fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) and his associates.
Najib said he had reflected on the scandal, which US authorities had dubbed the largest kleptocracy, over the past 26 months.
“It pains me every day to know that the 1MDB debacle happened under my watch as finance minister and prime minister.
“For that, I would like to apologise unreservedly to the nation,” he said in a statement read out by his eldest son Datuk Mohamad Nizar at the Kuala Lumpur High Court. - October 30, 2024
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