Najib withdraws appeal to recuse 1MDB judge

Najib Abdul Razak has retracted his appeal to recuse a judge from hearing his ongoing RM2.27 billion 1MDB abuse of power and money laundering trial.

The ex-prime minister’s lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah informed the Court of Appeal this morning of the withdrawal.

Najib initially wanted to recuse Collin Lawrence Sequerah as the judge used to be partners with 1MDB-linked former fugitive Jasmine Loo in a law firm 15 years ago.

Loo, who returned to Malaysia last year, is one of the star witnesses against ex-finance minister Najib.

Shafee told the three-person appellate panel chaired by Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali that the withdrawal was because Loo had since testified in the criminal trial before the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

The counsel, however, added that the defence team reserves the right to raise the alleged bias risk issue in any “main appeal” that may arise from the 1MDB case.

Shafee was referring to the hypothetical appeal scenario if Najib is found guilty and sentenced in the 1MDB case.

Bid to recuse judge denied

On Aug 18 last year, before the High Court, Sequerah dismissed Najib’s application for him to withdraw from the case and have a new judge preside over the trial.

Sequerah ruled that mere past employment is not enough to show a real danger of bias, as there was no contact between him and Loo since she left the law firm Zain & Co in 2008.

He left the firm in 2014 when he was elevated to the bench.

The judge pointed out that there has been no communication - personal or professional - between him and Loo since 2008.

Loo was engaged as general counsel with 1MDB in 2011.

“On Loo’s involvement in the case, it commenced in 2011 when she (was engaged by) 1MDB. This has nothing to do with the time I was at Zain & Co (with Loo),” Sequerah said.

He added that the defence team not only failed to show any existing personal or professional relationship between him and Loo, but it also could not provide evidence of a pecuniary or direct relationship with Loo.

Sequerah pointed out that this was strengthened by the fact that he was in the law firm’s litigation department then, while Loo was in a separate department dealing with corporate matters.

Previously, during the hearing of the recusal bid, Shafee submitted there was a perception of risk of bias on Sequerah’s part, who was a partner in Zain & Co when Loo was made a partner in 2004.

However, deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar countered that Loo was only involved with 1MDB in 2011, which was three years after she left the law firm in 2008.

Najib’s charges

Najib is on trial over four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.27 billion from 1MDB, a sovereign wealth fund wholly owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc).

For the four abuse of power charges, the former Pekan MP is alleged to have committed the offences at AmIslamic Bank Bhd’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 accused is purported to have committed the offences at the same bank between March 22, 2013, and Aug 30, 2013.

Kamal represented the prosecution in today’s appellate proceedings.

Apart from Ruzima, the other appeal bench member judges are Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Azman Abdullah.

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