1MDB TRIAL | Najib Abdul Razak’s lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah apologised for the media statement regarding the former premier’s RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption trial.
However, the lawyer stressed that the press statement was accurate and with no exaggeration.
Before the Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning, Shafee (above) made this response to the prosecution’s warning over his press briefing that he did two days earlier.
Yesterday, before trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah, lead deputy public prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram warned Shafee over the media statement which allegedly amounted to an attack on the prosecution.
During a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex on Monday this week, Shafee made the claim in relation to alleged Arab letters that purportedly promised donations to Najib between 2011 and 2012.
The lawyer distributed a written media statement which contained an allegation that the prosecution failed to disclose or deliver to the defence particulars of the transactions.
In the same media briefing, the lawyer also announced they are mulling legal action to allow the accused as Pekan MP to attend Parliament, in spite of the prison authorities refusing to allow this.
Shafee today told Sequerah that the portion on the media statement regarding the alleged documentation on Arab donation was made due to journalists asking him about the said transactions.
“I profusely apologise to the court if there is misconstrue of the media statement. The statement is accurate and with no exaggeration,” the lawyer said.
Shafee said he was merely trying to inform the media that the defence team managed to unearth documentary evidence to show Arab donations to Najib’s account, as well as about the potential legal action to allow Najib - who is currently serving a 12-year jail sentence - to attend Parliament.
In response, Sri Ram then said Najib’s defence team could have just raised their concerns in court rather than going to the media about it.
The DPP added that the court rather than the media is the most suitable platform to hear issues relating to evidence in the 1MDB case.
Shafee then informed the court that while Najib’s legal team would continue to engage with the media, they would refrain from commenting publicly about how the prosecution conducts its case.
At this juncture, Sequerah then said, “This will be the end of the matter as far as media statements are concerned”.
Abuse of power, money laundering
The graft trial then commenced with 39th prosecution witness Cheah Tek Kuang, the former managing director of AmBank, taking the witness stand to be cross-examined by Shafee.
Najib is on trial for four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion from 1MDB.
In relation to the four abuse of power charges, the Pekan MP was alleged to have committed the offence at AmIslamic Bank Berhad’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 former finance minister is purported to have committed the offences at the same bank between March 22, 2013, and Aug 30, 2013.
In the prosecution’s opening statement at the beginning of the trial on Aug 28, 2019, Sri Ram contended that the crime was allegedly committed through four phases spanning from 2011 to 2014.
Prosecutors contended that the first nine money laundering charges relate to alleged receiving of RM2,081,476,926 which forms the subject matter of the amended third charge and that the monies purportedly fell into the accused's account ending 694 with AmIslamic Bank.
The prosecution claimed that between Aug 2, 2013, and Aug 23, 2013, the accused transferred a sum of RM2,034,350,000 to Tanore Singapore.
Prosecutors alleged that simultaneously, the accused had used the balance of RM22,649,000 to pay four entities and one individual.
The prosecution contends that all these payments purportedly benefitted the accused.
They also contended that Najib received US$20 million (RM60,629,839.43) of 1MDB’s funds from one Prince Faisal via two tranches of US$10 million each - the first tranche was on Feb 24, 2011, and the second tranche on June 14, 2011.
The prosecution contended that the wrongdoing at 1MDB was carried out by fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, and several others with Najib’s blessing.
The accused’s defence team, however, claimed that the former prime minister had no knowledge of the crime perpetrated at 1MDB and the embezzlement was solely masterminded by Low and other members of the fund’s management.
1MDB is fully owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc).
Najib also used to be the finance minister and the chairperson of 1MDB’s board of advisers.
The BN advisory chairperson is serving a 12-year jail sentence after the Federal Court on Aug 23 dismissed his appeal in the RM42 million SRC International graft case.
In the SRC case, he was convicted over seven criminal charges, as well as meted the 12-year-jail custodial term and RM210 million fine in lieu of an additional five years in jail.
Initially a subsidiary of 1MDB, SRC later became fully owned by MOF Inc. Najib also used to be adviser emeritus to SRC.
During today’s 1MDB trial, Najib is seen in the dock, while a few Kajang Prison officers were seen seated nearby in the public gallery of the courtroom. - Mkini
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