KUALA LUMPUR: The prosecution witnesses in the RM2.28bil 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial at the High Court had given inconsistent and contradictory evidence against Datuk Seri Najib Razak, his defence team argued.
Lawyer Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin, who represented Najib, said the inconsistencies and contradictions in the testimony of former 1MDB CEO Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman made him a non-credible and unreliable witness.
Wan Azwan further said that Mohd Hazem, who was the 10th prosecution witness, deliberately took action to conceal 1MDB's financial losses from audit firm KPMG and played a crucial role in ensuring the firm's termination.
“My Lord, in fact, Mohd Hazem admitted that efforts were made to prevent KPMG from discovering the true financial state of 1MDB. He acknowledged that senior management, including himself, was involved in manipulating financial documents and withholding critical information to cover up significant losses.
“In regards to the strategic replacement of KPMG with Deloitte, Mohd Hazem admitted that the decision to replace KPMG was strategic, aiming to bring in auditors who would be more compliant with management’s directives and less likely to uncover financial discrepancies,” Wan Azwan said here on Monday.
He was making his submission at the end of the prosecution's trial.
The defence further submitted that the testimony by the 47th prosecution witness, Bank Negara Malaysia analyst Adam Ariff Mohd Roslan should also be made inadmissible as he was not a witness of fact nor an expert witness.
"Adam Ariff is not a witness of fact as his evidence does not stem from his own sensory perception or firsthand observations during the time the transactions occurred. He does not have firsthand knowledge and did not play any role in the investigation of the matter that would justify him being called as a witness.
"He could not testify about matters such as how the investigation was conducted, for example, how the documents were obtained. It is the submission of the defence that Adam Ariff does not possess any special knowledge that could make his role as a witness whose opinion is admissible in court," he said.
Wan Azwan said the witness himself had confirmed that the money trail analysis could be undertaken by anyone, only showing that the matter did not require specialised knowledge.
"He (Adam Ariff) also admitted his analysis only relied on documents furnished to him by the investigating officer," Wan Azwan said.
Najib, 71, is on trial for 25 charges in total - four for abuse of power that allegedly brought him the financial benefit to the tune of RM2.28bil and 21 for money laundering involving the same amount of money.
The four counts of power abuse were framed under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act (MACC) 2009 which provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine of up to five times the amount of gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher, upon conviction.
For the 21 charges of money laundering, Najib is charged under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (AMLATFA), which carries a maximum fine of RM5mil and imprisonment for up to five years, or both, upon conviction.
The hearing before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah resumes on Tuesday (Oct 1).
