Prosecution seeks to amend charges in Najib’s 1MDB trial

Politics
24 Oct 2023 • 2:21 PM MYT
Daily Express
Daily Express

Daily Express Online (Malaysia) is Sabah's top-ranked & most viewed English news site. It is also Sabah's leading & most circulated daily English newspaper.

image is not available

Kuala Lumpur: The prosecution in Najib Razak’s 1MDB trial is seeking to amend three of the 25 charges brought against the former prime minister.

Deputy public prosecutor Kamal Bahrin Omar told Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah today the prosecution wished to amend one abuse of power and two money laundering charges.

Kamal said the amendments were necessary following the testimony of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) analyst Adam Ariff Roslan.

He said the prosecution intends to amend the quantum of gratification stated in the fourth abuse of power charge faced by Najib from RM49.9 million to RM45.8 million.

SPONSORED CONTENT Daily Express members: Enjoy 1 for 1 signature cocktails and more at Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu Kota Kinabalu: DAILY EXPRESS is partnering with Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu to offer an exclusive deal for our members. Read more He said the witness had told the court he had traced a sum of RM45.8 million from a RM975 million loan taken by 1MDB to Najib’s account.

As regards the two money laundering charges, Kamal said the prosecution is seeking to amend the quantums stated in the 10th and 21st charges, from RM652.6 million to RM515.7 million, and from RM12.4 million to RM11.4 million, respectively.

He said the proposed amendments to the two charges came after investigating officer Foo Wei Min gave his testimony.

Responding to a question from Sequerah, Kamal said the amendments to all three charges had the effect of reducing the quantums involved.

However, Najib’s lawyer, Shafee Abdullah, objected to the proposed amendments, saying they could have serious implications for the defence’s case.

He requested that the defence team be given until tomorrow to prepare its response.

Najib is standing trial on 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering of alleged 1MDB funds totalling RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.

* Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss.

* Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.