Najib, who will turn 67 next month, has been charged with abuse of power with regards to approving RM4 billion of loans from Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP) to SRC between Aug 17, 2011, and Feb 8, 2012.
The defense, led by Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, claimed there was a technical problem of duplicity in the abuse of power charge, and that it should have been broken into two.
This prosecution’s blunder, he said, was prejudice against Najib in the trial, as it had made it difficult for the defense to mount a defense for the former premier.
Ad hoc prosecutor Datuk V Sithambaram said there was no prejudice against Najib and that the trial had progressed with both the prosecution and defense knowing what was in the charge.
“Najib was not prejudiced and not misled. There is no duplicity in the charge,” he said.
After the trial, Sithambaram admitted to pressmen that it had been a daunting task to prosecute the former prime minister, but that Najib acted professionally in answering the questions posed to him during cross-examination.
He also said he had faced no problems in conducting the case, despite the change of government earlier this year, and that his contract states he will be retained to act for the prosecution against Najib up to the Federal Court level.
The prosecution, he said, had not managed to show the element of CBT as to who ordered the transfer of SRC funds.
“You and I have seen there is no evidence linking Najib in directing the transfer, as the defense had also shown that there were dubious, forged signatures in the transfer of funds order,” he said.
“This is the work of Jho Low, (former SRC International) CEO, Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, and rogue bankers,” he reiterated to pressmen later, what he said during his submissions.
Whatever the verdict here maybe, he said, it may not impact the other SRC case involving Najib, where he was charged with three counts of money laundering involving RM27 million. The case will be tried at Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan’s court.
Najib, meanwhile, has filed civil suits against AmBank and its former relationship manager Joanna Yu Ging Ping, claiming mismanagement of his bank accounts that are being scrutinized in the SRC trial.
