Najib dealt another legal blow as court orders him to enter defence in RM2.27 billion case

The High Court today found there is a prima facie case against Najib Razak in the four charges of power abuse connected to the the RM2.27 billion 1MDB funds, dealing a blow to the former leader in his quest for an early release following the partial pardon halving his current jail sentence.

Najib is facing 25 counts of power abuse and money- laundering - in relation to 1MDB’s RM2.27 billion transferred into his bank accounts - some four months after his fall from power following an election campaign led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad that centred on the 1MDB scandal.

He is currently serving his 12-year sentence, which was reduced to six years following a partial pardon by former Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, which has since been mired in controversy over a claim that the monarch had instructed that the former leader serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

Throughout the trial, that began in 2019, the prosecution had presented evidence such as bank documents and called a total of 50 witnesses, including former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former 1MDB CEO Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, former 1MDB lawyer Jasmine Loo Ai Swan, as well as Najib's former officer Amhari Efendi Nazarudin.

Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah rejected the defence's argument that the witnesses had ulterior motives.

"Considering all evidence, the court noted that these witnesses are not on trial, and thus a detailed analysis of their demeanour is not required," he said.

The RM2.27 billion trial is one of five criminal cases facing Najib, the first of which - the RM42 million SRC case - saw him exhausting all legal options after being sentenced to 12 years’ jail and RM210 million fine, later reduced to six years and RM50 million.

Last year, the High Court acquitted Najib and former 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy of charges of altering the sovereign wealth fund's audit report presented to Parliament.

Najib's trial on six charges of criminal breach of trust involving RM6.6 billion of public funds in connection with 1MDB is scheduled for Nov 14, while another trial on three charges of money laundering in connection with the RM27 million from SRC International is scheduled for April 21, 2025.

In the meantime, Najib is also appealing against the High Court's decision in July which dismissed as hearsay his claim that the partial pardon granted to him contained a "royal addendum" to allow him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

Today's decision came less than a week after Najib's apology, in which he admitted responsibility for the 1MDB scandal as it took place under his watch as prime minister and finance minister, but maintained his innocence over the large-scale money transfers.