Court to hear two discovery applications by Najib on May 31

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has fixed May 31 to hear two discovery applications by Datuk Seri Najib Razak to obtain 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-linked documents involving investment bank Goldman Sachs and Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz.

The former prime minister filed the first of the two applications on March 24 when he filed a notice of motion to compel the prosecution in his RM2.28bil 1MDB trial to disclose banking documents linked to Zeti, the former Bank Negara governor, on claims that her family received monies from fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low.

On April 5, Najib filed the second discovery application for a confidential settlement agreement between Malaysia and US-based Goldman Sachs Group in 2020.

It was reported that Goldman Sachs had reached a deal with Malaysia to pay US$2.5bil (RM10.3bil) in cash and guarantee the return of US$1.4bil (RM5.7bil) from 1MDB assets seized around the world in exchange for Malaysia to drop criminal charges against the US bank.

In the second application, Najib sought the transcripts or forensic report from the phones of Tim Leissner, a former Goldman partner in Asia, as well as data stored on Goldman Sachs’ server involving Leissner’s communication.

Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Mustaffa P. Kunyalam told the court that the prosecution needed time to reply to both applications.

Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah then fixed May 31 to hear both discovery applications.