CBT case involving Najib and Irwan Serigar postponed to May 29

KUALA LUMPUR: The RM6.6bil criminal breach of trust (CBT) trial involving former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah has been postponed to May 29 due to a new development.

Deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi informed High Court judge Justice Muhammad Jamil Hussin that the prosecution had received a representation letter from Datuk K. Kumaraendran, who is representing Mohd Irwan, and the representation was currently being studied by the Attorney General’s Chambers.

"The representation has been referred to the Attorney General and his instruction was for me to request a postponement while we await the decision on the representation.

"There are many issues raised in the representation by Mohd Irwan's lawyer and we need time to study it," the DPP said here on Monday (April 3).

The prosecution also received a letter from Najib's lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah to request the postponement.

Monday was initially fixed for the first day of hearing in the trial, which was scheduled to continue on Tuesday (April 4), April 8 to 11, and throughout May.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Shafee informed the court that he had also sent a letter seeking the postponement following the settlement by the Malaysian government and the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).

"Without divulging information due to its sensitive information, we seek for the trial to be postponed for the negotiations to run smoothly.

"If there is a development, this case might not have to be continued," he said.

Justice Muhammad Jamil then allowed the postponement and fixed May 29 for mention.

On Oct 25, 2018, Najib, 70, and Mohd Irwan Serigar, 66, pleaded not guilty to six charges of CBT amounting to RM6.6bil in government funds involving payments to IPIC.

Najib and Mohd Irwan were jointly accused of committing all the offences at the Finance Ministry Complex, Putrajaya between Dec 21, 2016 and Dec 18, 2017.

They were charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same Code which provides for a maximum of 20 years’ jail and whipping as well as a fine upon conviction.