Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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PUTRAJAYA (March 15): The prosecution in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s SRC International appeal told the Federal Court that the alleged receipt of 1MDB funds by the family of former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz has no bearing on the SRC case, in which the former prime minister has been found guilty of money laundering and criminal breach of trust involving RM42 million of SRC funds that went into his accounts.

Prosecutor Datuk V. Sithambaram told a panel of five judges at the apex court here on Tuesday (March 15) that Najib’s application to adduce “new evidence” in his bid to overturn his guilty verdict and the sentence of 12 years in jail and RM210 million fine is unrelated to Zeti and her family.

The new evidence he is seeking to include involves an MACC statement on Nov 19 last year about funds forfeited from the company of Datuk Tawfiq Ayman in Singapore. Tawfiq is the husband of former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz. The funds, totalling US$15.4 million recovered from Cutting Edge Industries Ltd (CEIL) — a company owned by Tawfiq and another person — were recently returned to the MACC from Singapore. The money was allegedly 1MDB money from fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low.

Najib's previous attempt to adduce this new evidence was dismissed by the Court of Appeal last December on grounds it was "not necessary", as the CoA quashed his appeal against the guilty verdict handed down to him by the High Court. His lawyers are claiming their bid was rejected out of hand and that the CoA hearing had not been a fair trial.

On Tuesday, Sithambaram told the apex court that Zeti’s family had allegedly received the funds in 2008 and 2009, while Najib’s crimes took place from 2011 to 2015. He noted that SRC — once a wholly-owned subsidiary of 1MDB — only existed in 2011.

The former premier, in his affidavit supporting his application, claimed the opening of accounts under his name in AmBank and the receipt of RM42 million into these accounts were manipulated by Jho Low and his cohorts. His lawyers alleged that Zeti had also been “complicit” in Jho Low’s schemes.

Sithambaram, however, pointed out that Zeti had nothing to do with the money that went into Najib’s accounts. “What does Zeti and her husband got to do with the case when Najib didn’t report the RM42 million which had ended up in his accounts?” Sithambaram asked.

He also refuted Shafee’s claim that the defence was “treated unfairly” by the CoA, saying there were no double standards in the court's treatment of the case.  

He further said there would be complete chaos if Najib's application, which he likened to a “fishing for evidence” bid, is allowed.

He also highlighted that the defence has not specified how many witnesses will be called. nor listed out what specific evidence Najib is looking for. “This application is not for specific evidence. This is actually a reopening of the case, like a re-trial. New witnesses will be called,” he said of the application.

The five-member bench hearing the application is led by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat. The other members of the bench are: Court of Appeal president Justice Rohana Yusuf, Chief Judge of Malaya Justice Azahar Mohamed, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Justice Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, and Federal Court judge Justice Mohd Zawawi Salleh.

Sithambaram further told the bench that Zeti had been offered as a witness to Najib’s defence team when the SRC case was being tried at the High Court, but they chose not to call her to the witness stand.

“They (Najib’s lawyers) always asked prosecution witnesses throughout the SRC trial about Zeti’s knowledge involving 1MDB transactions and the so-called “Arab Donations” which were transferred into Najib’s accounts. However, they did not decide to put her on the stand,” he said.

They could have asked her about Bank Negara’s involvement in not flagging these huge sums of money that were going into Najib’s account, he said. “Their failure to interview her or call her as a defence witness when offered does not make this application tenable,” he added.

Shafee, however, argued earlier that the MACC's statement came out long after Najib was convicted, which was why the defence had sought to adduce it as fresh evidence at the CoA, but was not allowed to do so.

This is Najib's final appeal for the SRC case, in which he was found guilty by the High Court in July 2020 for three counts each of criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving RM42 million of SRC funds that ended up in his personal accounts between Dec 26, 2014, and Feb 10, 2015.

For each of the six offences, Najib was sentenced to 10 years in jail. He was also found guilty of abusing his power, for which he was sentenced to 12 years in jail and a fine of RM210 million in default of five more years of imprisonment. The court had ordered the jail sentences to run concurrently.

The hearing of Najib's appeal will continue on Wednesday (March 16).

Edited ByTan Choe Choe
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