Najib had a chance to defend himself when giving statement, MACC officer tells court

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak was given the chance to defend himself when his statement was taken by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) during the probe into the misappropriation 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds, the High Court here heard.

MACC senior officer Nur Aida Arifin said that when Najib's statements were recorded in 2018, he was shown documents on transactions relating to 1MDB monies and was asked to explain.

"We (the MACC) asked what were the actions taken in (executing) the documents," she said here on Friday (April 26).

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Nur Aida was under cross-examination by Najib's lawyer Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin in the former prime minister's RM2.28bil 1MDB trial.

Wan Azwan had contended that during the investigation, MACC officers had shown two documents to Najib without disclosing any specific allegations.

"We asked questions and recorded his (Najib's) statements in a narrative style. The witness or the accused was given the chance to explain explicitly," Nur Aida replied.

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Najib, 70, is on trial for 25 charges in total: four for abuse of power that allegedly brought him financial benefit to the tune of RM2.28bil; and 21 for money laundering involving the same amount of money.

The hearing continues before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah on Saturday (April 27).