High Court rules that the defence failed to raise reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case.
Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah ruled that the defence failed to raise reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case.
Sequerah found that Najib had interests in various 1MDB projects, including the PetroSaudi joint venture project, the acquisition of two independent power plants (IPPs), a joint venture with Aabar to develop Tun Razak Exchange, as well as taking a US$1.25 billion loan to purchase an option buy-back.
The court said the money trail presented by the prosecution showed that funds deposited into Najib’s accounts had originated from 1MDB.
“The defence never sought to rebut the report made by BNM (Bank Negara Malaysia) analyst Adam Ariff Roslan,” Sequerah said.
He also said Najib’s action in “returning” more than US$620 million after the 2013 general election raised questions.
However, a year after the funds were “returned” to the sender, Tanore Finance Corporation, Sequerah said Najib received fresh funds, allegedly in the form of a “donation”.
“The return of the donation was a cover-up (of his wrongdoing),” he said.
The court will now hear mitigation from Najib’s lawyers and the prosecution before sentencing is determined.
Najib had stood trial on four counts of abuse of power and 21 of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion in 1MDB funds deposited in his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.
A total of 50 witnesses testified during the prosecution’s case, which spanned 253 hearing days from Aug 28, 2019 to May 30, 2024.
During the defence stage, Najib’s lawyers called 26 witnesses to support his case.
The defence hearing began on Dec 2 last year and concluded on May 6.
Oral submissions were heard by the court over 10 days ending on Nov 4. - FMT
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