KUALA LUMPUR (June 30): Datuk Seri Najib Razak's bid to adduce fresh evidence in his SRC International Sdn Bhd case with the intention to nullify the trial has been set for further case management on July 29.
This is to provide time for the former prime minister to file his reply to the prosecution's affidavit filed on Wednesday (June 29) opposing his application.
"[Najib] intends to reply to their affidavit by July 14. The DPP (deputy public prosecutor) has the right to reply with further affidavit by July 21 [and Najib] will have his final reply by July 28," DPP Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul told theedgemarkets.com when contacted after case management on Thursday.
Najib's application comes just as the Federal Court is set to hear his final appeal against his SRC conviction from Aug 15 to 26.
The additional evidence relates to trial judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali's alleged conflict of interest as he served as a general counsel and company secretary for Maybank Group in 2006.
According to Najib's counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Justice Nazlan's failure to disclose his alleged prior involvement in the matter through Maybank had led to a real danger of bias.
The prosecution, however, has said that Justice Nazlan's involvement in Maybank was in the public domain in 2018, before the commencement of the SRC trial in April 2019.
Calling the application nothing but a fishing expedition, Mohd Ashrof said in his affidavit-in-reply that many of the allegations had more to do with SRC's former parent company 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) than SRC itself.
Mohd Ashrof said the "alleged" fresh evidence does not show any conflict of interest involving Justice Nazlan.
On July 28, 2020, the High Court found Najib guilty on all seven charges, and sentenced him to 12 years in jail and a fine of RM210 million.
The charges included one count of abuse of power involving Retirement Fund (Incorporated)'s (KWAP) RM4 billion loans to SRC, three counts of criminal breach of trust involving RM42 million and three counts of money laundering.
The Court of Appeal on Dec 8, 2021 upheld the High Court's decision.