'I feel vindicated', says Irwan after DNAA verdict

Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah feels vindicated after the Kuala Lumpur High Court granted him a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) today in the RM6.6 billion criminal breach of trust (CBT) case.

The former treasury secretary-general expressed his thanks to God after the case dragged on for “six years and two months” since 2018.

He expressed confidence that there was never any case against him because all government procedures had been complied with.

He claimed that the payment linked to the case was done in accordance with the approval of the then-cabinet.

"Thank God the court made the right decision. (I have been) Vindicated and I hope I can perform my umrah," Irwan (above) told the media at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex at Jalan Duta.

Earlier today, judge Muhammad Jamil Hussin granted the DNAA to Irwan and former premier Najib Abdul Razak after the prosecution failed to hand over hundreds of classified documents to the defence teams.

The criminal case has been longstanding since Najib and Irwan were first charged before the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Oct 25, 2018. The case was later transferred to the High Court.

During the same press conference today, Irwan's lawyer K Kumaraendran said his client is happy with the DNAA outcome.

"We hope the prosecution take the cue from His Lordship (trial judge) and not proceed further," the defence counsel said.

Unlike a discharge amounting to an acquittal (DAA), a person released over DNAA may be recharged in future if the prosecution chooses to do so.

The CBT criminal case against Najib and Irwan is linked to alleged payments of RM6,636,065,000 government funds to the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).

Jamil pointed out that the prosecution failed to abide by the requirements of Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).

The “disclosure” provision requires the prosecution to reveal information and disclose documents that it intends to produce in the case against an accused person, before the commencement of a trial.

Today's ruling is over Najib and Irwan’s third attempt for DNAA. The first attempt was in March 2022 and the second was in July this year. The court rejected the earlier attempts.

The documents yet to be declassified from the Official Secrets Act 1972 are from three ministries, namely the Economy Ministry, the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry, and the Transport Ministry.

On Oct 25, 2018, before the Sessions Court, Najib and Irwan pleaded not guilty to the six CBT counts.

Najib and Irwan allegedly committed all the offences at the Finance Ministry Complex in Putrajaya between Dec 21, 2016, and Dec 18, 2017.

They were charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same code, which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years, caning, and a fine.

However, since the duo are above 50, they would be spared caning if convicted.

The charges

On the first count, Najib, 71, and Irwan, 67, were jointly charged - in their capacity as finance minister and treasury secretary-general entrusted with RM1.2 billion belonging to the government - with committing CBT.

For the second count, they were jointly charged - in the same capacity - with committing CBT of RM655 million belonging to the government.

On the third charge, they were jointly accused - in their capacity as public servants and holding the same positions - of committing CBT of RM220 million belonging to the government in Federal Consolidated Fund under “Belanja Mengurus di Bawah Maksud B11 Perkhidmatan Am Perbendaharaan, Aktiviti 021700 KL International Airport Berhad” that were entrusted to them.

The duo was also jointly charged with CBT of RM1.3 billion, which was entrusted to them by the Federal Consolidated Fund under “Maksud B11 Perkhidmatan Am Perbendaharaan, Aktiviti 020500 Subsidi Dan Bantuan Tunai”, belonging to the government.

On the fifth and sixth counts, they were jointly charged with committing CBT of CN¥1,950,000,000 (RM1,261,065,000) and RM2 billion, respectively, that belonged to the government.

Najib is serving a six-year jail sentence over a separate abuse of power case involving RM42 million of funds from SRC International, a former subsidiary of troubled Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.

The former finance minister is also facing ongoing criminal trials in the RM2.27 billion 1MDB abuse of power case and the RM27 million SRC money laundering case.

Previously, Najib incidentally was acquitted in another criminal case involving 1MDB's audit report case.

Lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah acted for Najib.

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