THE Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) has rejected allegations of a ‘flawed prosecution’ following the High Court’s decision to grant Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in his second SRC International Sdn Bhd case.
In a statement issued on Friday, the AGC described the accusations as baseless and reaffirmed its commitment to the rule of law, stating that it would continue to discharge its constitutional responsibilities “with integrity, fairness and respect for the judicial process”.
The High Court earlier granted Najib a DNAA on three money laundering charges involving RM27 million allegedly misappropriated from SRC International. Judge K Muniandy noted that the case had remained stagnant for six years, since being registered in 2019, with no witness testimony presented—prompting the view that “the prosecution was not ready to proceed with the trial”.
Addressing these concerns, the AGC clarified that the case had been scheduled for hearing on five occasions—June 2020, July to August 2021, March to April 2022, September 2024, and April to May 2025. However, “all trial dates were postponed due to the Movement Control Order caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, requests by the defence, or applications by the prosecution itself,” the statement read.
The AGC explained that its requests for adjournment were linked to the overlapping timeline of Najib’s first SRC case, which was concurrently being heard at various levels of the judiciary until its conclusion on 31 March 2023.
Simultaneously, proceedings in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case had commenced, further complicating matters.
“Both cases involved overlapping material documents required for the second SRC trial,” the AGC said. “As these documents were critical to the second SRC case, the prosecution had no choice but to wait until they were available, which was until the 1MDB trial proceedings were completed.”
The statement further added: “It must be emphasised that the material documents are available but are currently being used as evidence in the ongoing 1MDB trial.”
The AGC also stated that it had sought additional time “to gather all relevant material documents to be presented as evidence in the second SRC trial”.
“This delay was not intentional but was to ensure the integrity of the documents as evidence in the trial is preserved,” it said.
Najib first claimed trial on 3 February 2019 to three charges of receiving illegal proceeds totalling RM27 million through his AmIslamic Bank Berhad accounts on 8 July 2014.
He was charged 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, a fine not exceeding RM5 million, or both.
The former prime minister is currently serving a custodial sentence in Kajang Prison for the misappropriation of RM42 million in the first SRC International case. His petition for a royal pardon, submitted on 2 September 2022, resulted in his sentence being halved from 12 to six years, and his fine reduced from RM210 million to RM50 million, following a decision by the Pardons Board on 29 January 2024. - June 21, 2025
