Najib ordered to answer RM2.27b 1MDB graft case

The Kuala Lumpur High Court has ordered Najib Abdul Razak to enter his defence over four abuse of power and 21 money laundering charges involving RM2.27 billion of funds from 1MDB.

Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah ruled that the prosecution succeeded in establishing a prima facie (answerable) case against the former prime minister over the company that is wholly owned by Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc).

Last week, in a statement read out by his son, Najib apologised for the 1MDB debacle while maintaining his innocence.

During open-court proceedings today, the former finance minister indicated he would give a sworn statement from the witness stand.

Sequerah ordered for the defence stage of the trial to begin on Dec 2.

Jho Low’s 1MDB proximity

Earlier during the nearly two-hour hearing that began around 9.23am, the criminal court judge ruled that Najib had to answer the charges due to the strength of the various witness testimonies.

Sequerah ruled that the prosecution witnesses’ oral evidence showed proximity between the accused and fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) in the affairs of 1MDB.

The judge said the witnesses - such as former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, the fund’s former general counsel Jasmine Loo, and Najib’s former special officer Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin - showed they interacted with Low.

Sequerah cited Amhari’s testimony that the witness was asked by Najib to go on a secret project to China and meet Low there in order to bail out 1MDB.

The judge referred to Amhari’s testimony that the witness’ travel cost was reimbursed by the accused.

“I find the testimonies on the role of the accused are consistent and not coincidental on the involvement of the accused with Low.

“(There is) No motive for these witnesses to frame the accused who was prime minister and finance minister.

“The accused stood at the apex of the decision-making process.

“It would be suicide for these witnesses to frame him given his position at the time,” Sequerah ruled.

The judge pointed out that Loo, who used to be part of Low's inner circle, testified on the fugitive's role in 1MDB and his relationship with Najib.

Sequerah said that these witnesses admitted receiving money and other rewards from Low.

"The accused is (claiming to be an) unwitting victim of a scheme of these witnesses to defraud 1MDB and thus unworthy of belief," the judge noted on Najib’s line of defence.

Sequerah pointed out that Loo even testified to seeing Low directing the fugitive's alleged associate, Kee Kok Thiam, to type out an Arab donation letter while at Mayfair, London.

The judge was referring to Najib's line of defence that the then premier received four alleged Arab royalty letters promising donation over the accused's contribution to the Islamic world.

Najib removed many from posts

The judge pointed out that when the 1MDB scandal erupted in 2015, Najib did not lodge a police report over the matter, including on Low’s alleged involvement in the case.

Sequerah noted that Najib shut down the multi-agency task force - made up of the police, MACC, and Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) - that was set up to look into the 1MDB affair.

The judge noted that the then prime minister removed the attorney-general at the time, Abdul Gani Patail, and then MACC chief Abu Kassim Mohamed.

Sequerah said Najib ousted then finance minister II Husni Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah when the latter raised concerns over the joint venture 1MDB entered.

“(Husni) was told in no uncertain terms to stay away from matters involving 1MDB,” the judge said.

Sequerah said Najib did not heed advice from The Edge’s chairperson Tong Kooi Ong to charge Low over funds stolen from 1MDB.

The judge pointed out that under all circumstances, Najib was “willfully blind” for not being willing to enquire into the source of the billions of ringgit that went into his bank account.

The judge said bank witnesses also testified that Najib never enquired about the massive inflow of funds into his account.

Sequerah pointed out Najib’s action of terminating KPMG as auditor of 1MDB to be replaced with Deloitte on Dec 31, 2013, following KPMG’s refusal to sign off on 1MDB’s accounts.

Deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar leads the prosecution team, while counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah heads Najib’s defence team.

The former Pekan MP has been serving a six-year jail sentence since late 2022 over a separate RM42 million SRC International graft case.

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