Prosecution amends three 1MDB charges against Najib ahead of trial

Three of Najib Abdul Razak's 1MDB charges concerning abuse of power for gratification were amended today, two weeks ahead of his trial which is set to commence on April 15.

Najib had originally claimed trial to the charges on Sept 20 last year.

The three charges, all under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009, were re-read to Najib in front of Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah at the Kuala Lumpur High Court this afternoon.

For two of the charges, which were listed as the second and third charges in the charge sheets, the prosecution introduced minor amendments to add the wordings - "in which you have direct interest" - to paragraphs detailing Najib's offences.

The fourth charge in the charge sheets, meanwhile, saw the introduction of a paragraph that contains an additional particular of Najib's alleged offence.

The charge in question initially stated that Najib had sought RM49.9 million in gratification for himself between June 23 and Dec 19, 2014.

Najib had allegedly done so by giving approval to 1MDB to obtain a loan of up to US$975 million from Deustsche Bank AG through 1MDB Energy Holdings Limited, for the purpose of 1MDB Energy Group IPO, on August 21, 2014.

The amendment today added one more action through which Najib allegedly sought gratification:

"On May 22, 2014, at 1MDB Office, Level 8, Menara IMC, No 8 Jalan Sultan Ismail, in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, you as the minister of finance did approve 1MDB through its wholly-owned subsidiary 1MDB Energy Holdings Limited to obtain a loan through an Initial Bridge Financing Facility up to US$300 million from Deutsche Bank AG for the purpose of 1MDB Energy Group IPO, in which you have a direct interest."

However, Najib's defence counsel Harvinderjit Singh objected to the amendment to the fourth charge.

He told the court that the original charge spelled out an alleged offence by his client that was committed between June 23 and Dec 19, 2014, whereas the additional detail that the prosecution was proposing states that the alleged offence took place on May 22 - before the said period.

"I assume that the amendment to the fourth charge adds what appears to be a further act," he said.

However, former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram, who is acting as the lead prosecutor in the 1MDB case against Najib, argued that the amendment merely introduced an additional particular to the charge.

"It doesn't alter the nature of it (the offence)."

Justice Collin, after considering submissions from both the prosecution and defence, allowed for the amendments.

He told the defence that they could bring the matter up during the trial, which will be held from April 15 to May 3. - Mkini