1MDB TRIAL | The Kuala Lumpur High Court has set Nov 6 to decide whether to allow prosecutors to reduce the amount in three charges against former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak linked to the RM2.27 billion 1MDB corruption case.
Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah fixed the decision date over the prosecution’s charge amendment application over one count of abuse of power and two counts of money laundering.
The amendment seeks to reduce the amount in one of the four abuse of power charges from RM49,930,985.70 to RM44,570,920.70.
The amendment also sought a reduction in the amount in two out of the 21 money laundering charges - RM652,600,000 to RM515,666,277.51 for one money laundering count, and RM12,436,711.87 to RM11,411,646.34 for the other money laundering charge.
During open-court proceedings this morning, Najib’s lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah applied to vacate today’s trial as the defence team needed more time to prepare submissions against the prosecution’s amendment bid.
The lawyer said that despite their best efforts, Najib’s legal team still required more time to assemble the “factual matrix” of the case in relation to the three charges that prosecutors seek to amend.
Shafee added that this required them to peruse through the testimony of several witnesses such as former Ambank relationship manager Joanna Yu, Ambank branch manager R Uma Devi and former 1MDB CEO Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman.
When Sequerah asked the prosecution whether they had any objection to the defence team’s postponement bid, deputy public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar said they had no objections.
The prosecutor explained this was also because MACC money laundering investigating officer (IO) Foo Wei Min was unable to take the witness stand today as he was on medical leave due to gout.
Sequerah then vacated today’s proceedings and set the trial to resume on Nov 6.
“On that date, I will deliver my decision for both the amendment (to the three charges) and admissibility of documentation, then we can proceed with Foo (testimony),” the judge said.
The admissibility of documentation issue refers to the defence team’s objections against the prosecutors’ intent to admit several bank documents linked to Foo’s testimony.
Two days ago, Kamal submitted that prosecutors seek the amendment due to the recent testimonies of two prosecution witnesses, namely Bank Negara Malaysia money trail analyst Adam Ariff Mohd Roslan and Foo.
The prosecutor noted that the amendment would not be prejudicial to Najib as it involved an amount reduction involved in the three criminal charges.
However, Shafee objected to the prosecution's amendment bid, pointing out that the line of defence and cross-examination of the prosecutors' witnesses were based on the unamended amount of the charges.
Shafee pointed out the proposed amendment by the prosecutors could potentially change the defence's entire line of cross-examination on key prosecution witnesses such as Adam and Foo.
The lawyer thus contended that the prosecution should instead either maintain or drop the three charges against Najib.
Najib, who is also a former finance minister, faces four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.27 billion from 1MDB, a sovereign wealth fund fully 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 and Aug 30, 2013.
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