Shafee: Najib spent 'donation' money for public benefit, not personal use
Hidir Reduan Abdul Rashid
Published: Oct 1, 2024 5:10 PM
1MDB TRIAL | Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak utilised millions of ringgit of funds he believed was a Saudi Arabian donation for public benefit, the Kuala Lumpur High Court heard today.
Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said the former finance minister did not use the money for his benefit.
"We have proven that 99 percent of the money were not for his personal use such as buying a yacht or private plane or treating everybody with champagne in a New York bar or something.
"This is against the pathology of corruption, as the person took this money and spent it not for personal use but for the benefit of the public.
"If I were a robber, I would have used the money for personal purposes," Shafee told the criminal court during the RM2.27 billion 1MDB abuse of power and money laundering trial against Najib.
Muhammad Shafee Abdullah
The lawyer was responding to trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah's question on whether the issue of the money being used for political purposes makes a difference in the issue of a criminal conviction.
"It does make a difference as if I was robbing 1MDB, to quote an elderly statesperson, then I must have been Robin Hood to give back via political channelling, welfare and CSR (corporate social responsibility)," Shafee said.
The lawyer maintained Najib's contention that he was led to believe by four alleged letters from Saudi royalty that he would be receiving donations.
However, deputy public prosecutors Kamal Baharin Omar and Ahmad Akram Gharib countered that the issue of purpose or how the money was utilised does not matter in determining guilt over four abuse of power charges and 21 money laundering counts.
In response, Shafee countered that Najib's actions in relation to the funds, such as issuing cheques openly for the public benefit, do not show a guilty person.
The hearing before Sequerah continues today.
Najib’s 25 charges
Najib is on trial over 25 counts encompassing abuse of power and money laundering of RM2.27 billion funds from 1MDB.
For the four abuse of power charges, the former Pekan MP allegedly committed the offences at AmIslamic Bank Bhd’s Jalan Raja Chulan branch in Bukit Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur, between Feb 24, 2011, and Dec 19, 2014.
On the 21 money laundering counts, the 71-year-old was accused of committing the offences at the same bank between March 22 and Aug 30, 2013.
The accused was first charged on Sept 20, 2018, and his criminal trial began on Aug 28, 2019.
The prosecution closed its case on May 30 this year, six years after the former prime minister was first charged.
The proceedings are now in the oral submissions stage, which involves no witness testimonies, only legal teams summing up whether the oral and documentary evidence implicates or exonerates Najib.
The lawyer was responding to trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah's question on whether the issue of the money being used for political purposes makes a difference in the issue of a criminal conviction.
"It does make a difference as if I was robbing 1MDB, to quote an elderly statesperson, then I must have been Robin Hood to give back via political channelling, welfare and CSR (corporate social responsibility)," Shafee said.
The lawyer maintained Najib's contention that he was led to believe by four alleged letters from Saudi royalty that he would be receiving donations.
However, deputy public prosecutors Kamal Baharin Omar and Ahmad Akram Gharib countered that the issue of purpose or how the money was utilised does not matter in determining guilt over four abuse of power charges and 21 money laundering counts.
In response, Shafee countered that Najib's actions in relation to the funds, such as issuing cheques openly for the public benefit, do not show a guilty person.
The hearing before Sequerah continues today.
Najib’s 25 charges
Najib is on trial over 25 counts encompassing abuse of power and money laundering of RM2.27 billion funds from 1MDB.
For the four abuse of power charges, the former Pekan MP allegedly committed the offences at AmIslamic Bank Bhd’s Jalan Raja Chulan branch in Bukit Ceylon, Kuala Lumpur, between Feb 24, 2011, and Dec 19, 2014.
On the 21 money laundering counts, the 71-year-old was accused of committing the offences at the same bank between March 22 and Aug 30, 2013.
The accused was first charged on Sept 20, 2018, and his criminal trial began on Aug 28, 2019.
The prosecution closed its case on May 30 this year, six years after the former prime minister was first charged.
The proceedings are now in the oral submissions stage, which involves no witness testimonies, only legal teams summing up whether the oral and documentary evidence implicates or exonerates Najib.
Fifty witnesses took the stand for the prosecution, among them 1MDB's former CEOs Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and Mohd Hazem Abd Rahman, the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund's former chairperson Mohd Bakke Salleh, and former Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
Prosecutors claimed that Najib received RM2.27 billion misappropriated from the troubled sovereign wealth fund between 2011 and 2014.
However, Najib’s defence team contended that the former premier had no knowledge of any wrongdoing at 1MDB and that wrongdoing was solely masterminded by Low and members of the fund’s management.
The former finance minister previously contended that the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia promised the accused financial donation for political purposes.
Najib's defence team also pointed out that while US$681 million flowed into his two AmBank accounts in 2013, around US$620 million was returned to the sender.
Ya, ya.... Luxury holidays, diamonds, Birkin bags.....all for public benefit ya...
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