Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (July 28): Lawyers in the trial of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s three money-laundering charges involving RM27 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds, known as the second SRC trial, are seeking an adjournment to the start of the trial pending Najib’s appeals of the first SRC trial.

Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul told the media of this today after the prosecutor and Najib’s lawyer met with High Court Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan in his chambers to inform him of their intentions to delay the trial.

“Both parties are going to write to seek an adjournment to this trial,” Ashrof told reporters when met at the High Court here.

He said the reason to adjourn the trial was because Najib’s appeal at the Court of Appeal is awaiting judgment and after that, there will most likely be a further appeal at the Federal Court or the apex court.

“The evidence in this case is directly interlinked to the first SRC case, with the money trail and so on, our instructions are to seek adjournment pending decision of the Court of Appeal and Federal Court,” he said.

Initially, the trial was slated to begin on July 5, but it was pushed to Aug 2 to 5 and 9 to 10.

The court has also fixed additional trial dates for next year: March 7 to 10 and 28 to 31, and April 11 to 14 and 25 to 28. However, Ashrof said they are seeking to vacate those dates as well.

At first, the prosecution in Najib's SRC case wanted the three money laundering charges involving RM27 million to be tried together with the former premier's seven other charges involving RM42 million in SRC, but the plan was changed due to a procedural issue.

Najib is alleged to have received the RM27 million at AmIslamic Bank Bhd's Jalan Raja Chulan branch on July 8, 2014.

SRC is a former subsidiary of the now-defunct strategic investment firm 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

On July 28 last year, High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali had sentenced Najib to 12 years’ jail and fined him RM210 million after he was found guilty of seven charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of position involving RM42 million of SRC funds.

Edited ByKang Siew Li
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