1MDB TRIAL | The criminal court has put its foot down over the latest attempt by Najib Abdul Razak’s legal team to reserve the cross-examination of prosecution witnesses in the former prime minister’s RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption trial.

Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah this morning issued an advance warning that the prosecution would be allowed to proceed with a re-examination of witnesses and call new witnesses, in the event that none of the accused’s legal team was prepared to mount cross-examination.

The trial judge said this after being informed by Najib’s co-counsel Wan Aizuddin Wan Mohammed that the defence seek to reserve cross-examination as lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (above) was attending another court matter this morning and would only be available this afternoon.

Wan Aizuddin was referring to the 40th prosecution witness and former AmInvestment Bank managing director Kok Tuck Cheong, who took the witness stand for the prosecution this morning and deputy public prosecutor T Deepa Nair wrapped up the examination-in-chief of the witness.

After Deepa finished her brief questioning of the witness, Aizuddin informed the court that the defence wanted to reserve cross-examination as Shafee is preoccupied with another court case.

Shafee is the counsel for former Repco Holdings Bhd executive chairperson Low Thiam Hock’s appeal against his conviction as well as the five-year jail sentence and RM5 million fine for market manipulation.

The Bursa Malaysia-related appeal is scheduled for hearing before a separate Kuala Lumpur High Court today as well as Thursday and Friday this week.

Upon being informed by Aizuddin, Sequerah then asked the lawyer to check whether Shafee is finished with the stock market-related appeal.

At this juncture, lead deputy public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram then told the court that the prosecution is unable to call new witnesses as several prosecution witnesses - including Kok - were still waiting to be cross-examined by Najib’s lawyers.

"We all have to adjust ourselves," the prosecutor reminded the accused's lawyers.

Sequerah then told Aizuddin that while the judge had accommodated the defence team as much as possible, the court cannot continue to conduct trials in instalments.

The judge remarked that Aizuddin was more than capable to take over the cross-examination in the event that Shafee is not available, noting that Najib has a "big" legal team.

“I give an advance warning that this will be the situation. If Shafee is unable to conduct a cross-examination and you (Aizuddin) are unable to step up, then the prosecution would re-examine. We cannot be waiting,” the trial judge reminded the defence team.

Aizuddin then said he would inform Shafee about it. Sequerah then postponed the trial to 2.30pm today.

Last week, the judge reminded parties that the trial has been delayed for so long since the hearing began in 2019.

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak

25 charges

Najib is on trial for four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion from 1MDB.

In relation to the four abuse of power charges, the Pekan MP was alleged to have committed the offences at AmIslamic Bank Berhad’s Jalan Raja Chulan branch in Bukit Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur, between Feb 24, 2011, and Dec 19, 2014.

On the 21 money laundering counts, the former finance minister is purported to have committed the offences at the same bank between March 22, 2013, and Aug 30, 2013.

In the prosecution’s opening statement at the beginning of the trial on Aug 28, 2019, Sri Ram contended that the crime was allegedly committed through four phases spanning from 2011 to 2014.

Prosecutors contended that the first nine money laundering charges relate to allegedly receiving RM2,081,476,926 which forms the subject matter of the amended third charge and that the monies purportedly fell into the accused’s account ending in 694 with AmIslamic Bank.

The prosecution claimed that between Aug 2, 2013, and Aug 23, 2013, the accused transferred a sum of RM2,034,350,000 to Tanore Singapore.

Prosecutors alleged that simultaneously, the accused used the balance of RM22,649,000 to pay four entities and one individual.

The prosecution contends that all these payments purportedly benefited the accused.

They also contended that Najib received US$20 million (RM60,629,839.43) of 1MDB’s funds from alleged Arab royal “Prince Faisal” via two tranches of US$10 million each - the first tranche was on Feb 24, 2011, and the second tranche on June 14, 2011.

The prosecution contended that the wrongdoing at 1MDB was carried out by fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) and several others with Najib’s blessing.

The accused’s defence team, however, claimed that the former prime minister had no knowledge of the crime perpetrated at 1MDB and the embezzlement was solely masterminded by Low and other members of the fund’s management.

1MDB is fully owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc).

Najib also used to be the chairperson of 1MDB’s board of advisers.

The BN advisory chairperson is serving a 12-year jail sentence after the Federal Court on Aug 23 dismissed his appeal against the SRC International conviction over seven criminal charges, the custodial term, and an RM210 million fine in lieu of an additional five years in jail.

Initially a subsidiary of 1MDB, SRC later became fully owned by MOF Inc. Najib also used to be adviser emeritus to SRC.