KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) found no elements of criminal wrongdoing in its probe into judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar said that the anti-graft body’s investigations into claims of Nazlan having a conflict of interest when presiding over former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s SRC International graft case revealed that the judge had not committed any criminal offence.
“MACC had thoroughly carried out its investigations and found that there were no elements of a criminal offence,” Anwar said when addressing the Dewan Negara today.
He added that allegations of Nazlan having violated the Judges’ Code of Ethics is a non-issue, as the Federal Court has since made a ruling on the matter, noting that the defendant in Nazlan’s case had retracted their claims against the judge in August last year.
In a letter dated March 20 to Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said confirmed that the MACC had concluded that Nazlan had breached the judicial code of ethics.
She also answered in the affirmative when Shafee questioned whether MACC concluded that Nazlan had a conflict of interest while presiding over Najib’s case.
Last year, MACC began an investigation into Nazlan following allegations posted on the Malaysia Today blog that the judge had received an unexplained RM1 million in his account from fugitive businessman and 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal mastermind, Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low.
In February this year, a seven-member panel led by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat ruled that MACC had failed to adhere to protocols when pursuing its probe against Nazlan.
The apex court had said that enforcement authorities are required to consult the chief justice before initiating any probe, with the MACC’s failure to do so showing “a lack of bona fide” on their part.
Legal observers had subsequently told The Vibes that MACC’s failure to adhere to protocols might impact the credibility of its final report.
Nazlan, who is now a Court of Appeal judge, had convicted Najib in July 2020 on charges of power abuse, money laundering and criminal breach of trust involving RM42 million in funds belonging to SRC International, a 1MDB subsidiary.
Najib was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and fined RM210 million after he was found guilty of all seven charges.
In December last year, the Court of Appeal upheld the high court judge’s conviction after finding that the guilty sentence delivered was correct, given the prosecution has proven elements of the offences beyond a reasonable doubt.
In April, a separate Federal Court bench had similarly dismissed Najib’s application for a review of his conviction and sentence, leaving him to continue serving his prison sentence in the Kajang prison. – The Vibes, June 19, 2023
