Pending high-profile court cases against Najib, 4 others

With Najib Abdul Razak now undergoing his 12-year jail sentence for the RM42 million SRC International corruption case, attention now turns to other major ongoing court battles.

Among them are criminal court cases facing the former premier’s spouse Rosmah Mansor and his ally, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, as well as former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and former finance minister Lim Guan Eng.

Najib, Rosmah, and Zahid were first charged in court for their criminal cases between 2018 and 2019, while Syed Saddiq and Lim were first brought to court between 2020 and last year.

After the apex court’s dismissal yesterday of his appeal in the SRC case involving seven criminal charges, Najib still faces four ongoing criminal cases.

All four of these cases are still at the prosecution stage of the trial, and the court has yet to decide whether Najib has to enter his defence on any one of them.

1. 1MDB

The first one is the corruption trial involving RM2.28 billion of funds from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, which is set to resume before the Kuala Lumpur High Court tomorrow.

Back in November 2018, he was charged with four counts of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering.

During proceedings before trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah on June 23 this year, 20th prosecution witness and ex-finance minister II Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah testified that it was Najib who had the decision-making power in 1MDB, and not him.

Husni was also one of the key prosecution witnesses in the RM42 million SRC International trial, who had testified in August 2019 that former finance minister Najib told him not to interfere in 1MDB.

Initially a subsidiary of 1MDB, SRC’s full ownership was transferred to the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc). MOF Inc also fully owned 1MDB.

Najib also used to be SRC’s adviser emeritus and chairperson of 1MDB’s board of advisers.

2. Audit report tampering

The second ongoing criminal case against Najib is the trial over the alleged use of his then position as prime minister to order amendments to 1MDB’s final audit report before it was presented to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), in order to prevent any action against him.

During proceedings before trial judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan back on Aug 12, MACC senior enforcer Hanif Lami testified that Najib sought the amendment to the report in 2016 to shield himself from legal consequences.

Co-accused and former 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy had turned star witness to testify against Najib in this trial.

The trial is set to resume before Zaini on Friday this week.

3. Another SRC International case

Before the same trial judge, Najib also faced a separate criminal case, namely the money laundering case involving RM27 million of funds from SRC.

However, this third criminal court case against him has been postponed multiple times since 2019, in order to make way for the disposal of other cases against Najib, such as the RM2.28 billion 1MDB case.

The case is set again before Zaini on Sept 28 this year.

4. IPIC

In relation to the fourth ongoing case against Najib before the Kuala Lumpur High Court, he faces six charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving RM6.6 billion of funds linked to the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).

Back on March 3, trial judge Muhammad Jami Hussin dismissed a bid by him and co-accused, former Treasury secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, to be given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA).

The duo sought the DNAA as the trial has not yet started in the case despite them being first charged at court in December 2018.

Jamil pointed out that the prosecution has every intent to proceed with the case, and has maintained trial dates next year, namely April 1 to 4, April 8-11 and throughout May.

Rosmah Mansor - verdict next week

In relation to Rosmah, she faces two ongoing court battles.

The first one, with the verdict set to be delivered by Zaini on Sept 1, is her corruption trial linked to the RM1.25 billion solar hybrid energy project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak.

One charge is over alleged soliciting of a RM187.5 million bribe from the project which was awarded to then Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi Abang Samsudin through her then aide Rizal Mansor.

The other two charges are for purportedly receiving a total of RM6.5 million - RM1.5 million and RM5 million respectively - from Saidi at her official residence in Seri Perdana, Putrajaya, and her private residence in Jalan Langgak Duta, Kuala Lumpur.

She was ordered to enter her defence on Feb 18 last year.

Before Zaini, Rosmah also faces an ongoing separate criminal case involving alleged money laundering and tax evasion involving RM7 million.

She faces 12 money laundering counts involving RM7,097,750 and five charges of failing to declare her income to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB).

She allegedly committed the offences between April 30, 2014, and 2018. She was first charged in December 2018.

However, the trial before Zaini has yet to proceed, and the Court of Appeal has set Nov 22 for her appeal to compel the judge to recuse himself from hearing her case.

The case before Zaini, which is still at the prosecution stage, is set for another date on Nov 29.

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi - two court cases

In regards to former deputy prime minister Zahid, he faces two separate ongoing criminal court cases.

Before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Sequerah, he is facing the defence stage of a corruption case involving tens of millions of ringgit from Yayasan Akalbudi. The court hearings on this case should end soon with the judge delivering a verdict.

First charged in 2018, Zahid was ordered to enter his defence on Jan 24 this year over 47 charges.

He faces 12 CBT counts, eight corruption charges, and 27 money laundering counts.

Back on Aug 24, Zahid testified that a donation of RM13.25 million from a businessperson, Junaith Asharab Md Shariff, was meant for the foundation’s welfare activities.

The accused claimed the donation was not for his personal benefit.

The trial is set to resume on Aug 29.

In relation to a second ongoing criminal case before the Shah Alam High Court, Zahid faces 40 charges linked to the Foreign Visa System (VLN).

He is facing 33 counts of receiving bribes amounting to SG$13.56 million (RM44 million) from Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd (UKSB) for himself as then home minister to extend the company’s contract as the operator of One Stop Centre (OSC) service in China and the VLN system, as well as to maintain the contract agreement to supply the VLN integrated system to the same company by the Home Ministry.

For another seven charges, he was accused of obtaining for himself SG$1,150,000 (RM3.7 million), RM3 million, €15,000 (RM68,700) and US$15,000 (RM66,000) from the same company in relation to his official duty.

On Aug 11, the prosecution closed its case against Zahid after having called 18 witnesses, and trial judge Mohd Yazid Mustafa has set six days from Sept 1 for oral submissions. 

Lim Guan Eng - two court cases

Meanwhile, Lim has multiple charges before two separate courts.

Before the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, he is currently on trial over four charges in relation to the RM6.3 billion Penang Undersea Tunnel Project.

Two counts are over his alleged use of his then position as Penang chief minister to seek a 10 percent cut of the profits from the project and accepting RM3.3 million in kickbacks from businessperson Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli.

The other four charges are over the alleged misappropriation of RM208.7 million worth of state land from two companies.

Back on Aug 10, a private valuer testified that the value of two properties linked to the project was actually RM300 million, contrary to previous oral evidence that it was worth RM80 million.

This prosecution stage of the trial is set to resume on Sept 29.

Before the Butterworth Sessions Court, Bagan MP Lim faced a graft case involving one corruption charge over his alleged help to secure a project to a company.

Businessperson Phang Li Koon was charged with abetting him in the offence.

Lim’s wife, Betty Chew Gek Cheng, was also charged with three counts of money laundering.

However, these cases - which are still in the prosecution stage - have yet to proceed to full trial.

Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman - one court case

In relation to Syed Saddiq, the former Bersatu Youth chief is facing an ongoing misappropriation case before the Kuala Lumpur High Court involving RM1.12 million of funds from the political group’s youth wing.

He was accused, as the then Bersatu Youth chief entrusted with control of its funds, of abetting Rafiq Hakim Razali - who is the wing’s former assistant treasurer - in committing CBT involving RM1 million belonging to the wing.

For the second charge, Syed Saddiq is purported to have misused property for himself, namely RM120,000 from the Maybank Islamic Bhd account belonging to Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise, by causing Rafiq to dispose of the money.

He also faced two charges of engaging in money-laundering activities, namely two transactions of RM50,000 each alleged to be proceeds from unlawful activities, from his Maybank Islamic Bhd account into his Amanah Saham Bumiputra account.

Yesterday, Bernama reported that trial judicial commissioner Azhar Abdul Hamid dismissed the Muda co-founder’s application to obtain a copy of Rafiq’s statement recorded by MACC. 

The prosecution stage of the trial is set to resume on Sept 27.

Following Najib's sentence, Edmund Bon wants pardons system reformed

Ex-Umno member Khairuddin wins lawsuit over 1MDB-linked detention

COMMENT | Federal Court decision affirms rule of law

YOURSAY | Verdict a turning point for Malaysia

RM13.25m contribution for foundation's welfare activities - Zahid

Bossku does not end here - Najib's daughter