This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 28, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: After several postponements, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s trial over his alleged involvement in embezzling RM2.28 billion from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) will finally be heard before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah at the High Court today.

The prosecution team, led by appointed prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram, will be reading their opening statement for the case, and call six formal prosecution witnesses, without witness statements, to testify.

Sri Ram’s team includes Deputy Public Prosecutors (DPPs) Ahmad Akram Gharib, Mohamad Mustaffa P Kunyalan, Deepa Noir Thevaharan, Nadia Mohd Izhar, Najwa Bistamam, Hazmida Harris Lee and Tan Song Yan. The prosecution is expected to call about 60 witnesses for the 1MDB case.

However, Najib and his lead defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah have obtained leave to challenge Sri Ram’s appointment as a senior DPP in the trial.

By proceeding with the trial, the prosecution risks nullifying the entire proceedings if the former Federal Court judge is removed midway through the trial, forcing them to start again in building their case.

On Sept 20, 2018, Najib was charged in the Sessions Court here with four counts of abusing his positions to obtain gratification under Section 23 (1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.

Najib was accused of misusing his positions as a civil servant — prime minister, finance minister and the 1MDB advisory board chairman — to obtain bribes of RM60.63 million, RM90.9 million, RM2.08 billion and RM49.93 million between Feb 24, 2011 and Dec 19, 2014 at the AmIslamic Bank Bhd branch in Jalan Raja Chulan.

The former premier was also slapped with 21 counts of money laundering under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.

Under the first nine charges, Najib allegedly received a total of RM2.08 billion between March 22 and April 10, 2013 from Tanore Finance Corp through the latter’s Falcon Private Bank in Singapore.

Then, he faces five charges concerning the transfer of RM2.03 billion back to Tanore between Aug 2 and Aug 23, 2013, and thereafter two charges of Najib transferring RM162.44 million from his AmBank account ending 694 to his other accounts with the bank.

The remaining charges are on Najib’s payments to various parties — RM20 million to Umno, RM100,000 to Umno Batu Kawan, RM246,000 to tycoon Tan Sri Lim Soon Peng, RM2 million to ORB Solutions Sdn Bhd and RM303,000 to Semarak Consortium Satu Sdn Bhd.

Najib pleaded not guilty to all 25 charges. The case was later transferred to the High Court.

Tanore’s source of funds, according to the US Department of Justice, was 1MDB’s third bond raised in 2013, supposedly for a joint venture between 1MDB and Abu Dhabi Malaysia Investment Company.

Najib will be represented by Muhammad Shafee, while his other counsels include Farhan Read, Syahirah Hanafiah and Farhan Shafee.