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Najib’s use of 1MDB funds never for private jet or champagne, lawyer Shafee tells court | Scoop
Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said his client Datuk Seri Najib Razak used 1MDB funds for the 2013 general election and not to buy “a private plane or champagne”, when asked by the court to explain the difference between personal and political spending. - Scoop file pic, October 1, 2024
News

Najib’s use of 1MDB funds never for private jet or champagne, lawyer Shafee tells court

Prosecution counters that law on corruption does not look at how money was spent, but that it was for ex-PM’s “advantage”

Scoop Reporters
Updated
4:28 PM MYT

 

KUALA LUMPUR — Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak did not spend 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) money on himself, his lawyer told the court today when asked to explain the distinction between the former prime minister’s personal and political spending.

Najib’s lead counsel, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said it was not logical if a person accused of corruption spent the funds for “the benefit of the public”, and also said his client had used funds from the state investment firm for the 2013 general election.

“For instance, he didn’t buy a private plane or treat everybody with champagne in a New York bar, or something like that,” Bernama reports Shafee telling high court judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah today when submitting at the close of the prosecution’s case in Najib’s 1MDB trial.

Shafee said the defence team has proven that “99% of the money in Najib’s account was not used for his personal purposes”.

Sequerah had asked the defence about the distinction between Najib’s personal expenses and those for political purposes.

“My Lord, I have to use this word; it is against the pathology of corruption, that a person took this money and spent it not for personal use, but for the benefit of the public,” Shafee, adding that Najib had used RM300 million from 1MDB for the 2013 general election.

At this juncture, Judge Sequerah questioned the veteran counsel if there were any case law to back his argument.

In response, Shafee said that “it is an inference of facts”, adding that there has not been a case quite like Najib’s 1MDB case, which set it apart from any precedent.

The judge then asked for the prosecution’s comment to which deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Kamal Bahrin Omar replied that they are only concerned with the fact that the alleged funds, which entered Najib’s accounts – came from illegal proceeds.

Fellow DPP Ahmad Akram Gharib added that it did not matter whether Najib used the purported funds for personal or political reasons.

“The law says that it is for his advantage,” Akram added.

Najib, 71, faces 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.

He also faces 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount at the same bank between March 22, 2013 and Aug 30, 2013.

Najib is charged under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 and Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act.

The submission continues. – October 1, 2024

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