Najib Abdul Razak has been consistent in his statements regarding SRC International Sdn Bhd funds, contrary to the plaintiff’s allegations, said his lawyer Shafee Abdullah.
Shafee said up until today, the former prime minister maintains having no knowledge of receiving RM42 million in funds from SRC.
"He has made five statements, maybe even more, but all these are consistent with the entire defence that he has put up," Shafee told a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex lobby today.
"Not only during the trial, but even during the investigation by the MACC, his defence has been consistent. It never shifted at all.
"That would indicate that his defence must be trustworthy, and it is an honest defence, and if there was a mistaken belief, there was genuinely a mistaken belief of a certain state of affairs," he added.
Yesterday, SRC counsel Lim Chee Wee accused Najib of giving five different statements under oath over how RM42 million from the company came to be in his personal account.
According to Malay Mail, Lim said Najib had denied receiving the money, said his account was for corporate social responsibility (CSR) purposes.
Najib also claimed that he did not personally oversee his account, and that the funds were donations, and the account was merely a flow-through entity.
Bernama also reported the lawyer as saying that Najib also utilised his role as the shadow director of the company.
“He controlled the company’s board via shareholder resolutions on important macro-decisions that ought to have been made by the SRC board itself,” said Lim.
Macro management
Addressing Lim's claims, Shafee said Najib had returned a significant chunk of funds as he was under the impression that it was a donation from the then Saudi Arabian monarch King Abdullah for CSR purposes.
Furthermore, he claimed that Najib - in his dual roles as the prime minister and finance minister at the time - did not personally manage details of his account.
"As a prime minister, as well as finance minister, of course, he gave certain suggestions, and maybe even directions, on a macro level, for purposes of managing the nation.
"Because SRC is just like 1MDB and Petronas, which are giants of a company, or companies that we hope to be giants.
“You cannot expect the prime minister to give micro management," he said, adding that micro management was generally left to senior managers and the board of directors.
RM5b civil suit
In May 2021, SRC, under new management, filed an RM5 billion civil suit against Najib and its former CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, who is at large.
The company claimed that Najib had committed a breach of trust and power abuse, personally benefited from the company’s funds, and misappropriated the funds.
SRC is seeking a court declaration that the former premier is liable for the company's RM42 million losses and demanding repayment.
Najib is serving his sentence at Kajang Prison since Aug 23, 2022, following his conviction for misappropriating RM42 million in funds belonging to SRC. - Mkini
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