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Shafee vows stronger defence after Najib ordered to answer all 1MDB charges | Scoop
Datuk Seri Najib Razak's lead counsel Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah has asserted the defence's commitment to contest the charges on the 1MDB corruption case. - Bernama file pic, October 30, 2024
News

Shafee vows stronger defence after Najib ordered to answer all 1MDB charges

The ex-PM's legal team calls court ruling 'rare', 'surprising' as they prepare to challenge all 25 charges

Main Author Image
Qistina Nadia Dzulqarnain
Updated
1:25 PM MYT

 

KUALA LUMPUR – The high court’s decision to order former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to enter his defence on all 25 charges linked to the RM2.27 billion 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) corruption case has fuelled resolve in his legal team.

Although Najib’s lead counsel, Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah, said the defence respects the court’s decision, he expressed “surprise” at the judgement delivered by judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah.

“It is the only case (I’ve handled) where I did not win on a single point—not a shred of cotton (for me). (But), we are more determined because of this decision,” Shafee told reporters outside the court complex here.

Earlier, Sequerah ordered Najib—who has been serving a prison sentence since August last year following a guilty verdict in the SRC International corruption case, a former 1MDB subsidiary—to enter his defence on four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering.

In establishing a prima facie case, the judge said that the prosecution had proven each ingredient of the alleged offences, affirming the validity and non-defective nature of the charges against Najib.

Shafee also highlighted to the press that the judgement reflects a “rare case” where allegedly hearsay evidence has been accepted “wholesale,” reasserting the defence’s contention that the prosecution’s witnesses had introduced hearsay, which the defence had disputed.

“My client (Najib) is extremely disappointed. We (defence) put up arguments that we thought would require, at minimum, serious consideration.”

Asked about Najib’s recent apology regarding the 1MDB scandal, Shafee emphasised that “a lot of politicians” have misinterpreted the former Umno president’s message, which he says was solely intended as an apology for the scandal unfolding during his tenure.

“He didn’t apologise to get better results here (during today’s court proceedings). Najib apologised because as the head of the government (then), he’s saying sorry for the bad things that happened under his watch.

“He’s not saying that he did it (1MDB-linked crimes), (nor is he saying) that he’s criminally guilty or negligent,” Shafee added.

The defence plans to call a minimum of 11 witnesses when the trial resumes on December 2.

Najib was initially charged in September 2018 with four counts of power abuse and 21 counts of money laundering connected to funds allegedly misappropriated from 1MDB. The accusations cite offences committed between 2011 and 2014 at AmIslamic Bank Bhd’s Jalan Raja Chulan branch in Bukit Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur.

The 1MDB trial commenced in August 2019, with the prosecution closing its case on 30 May this year after calling 50 witnesses, including former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz, and 1MDB’s former chief executive officers, Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and Mohd Hazem Abd Rahman.

If Najib is found guilty on the abuse of power charges under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, he faces up to 20 years in prison, an RM10,000 fine, or a fine five times the value of funds solicited, whichever is greater.

On the 21 counts of money laundering under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA), Najib could face a maximum RM5 million fine, up to five years in prison, or both. – October 30, 2024

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