PUCHONG: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim asserted that he had no involvement in the court’s decision to discharge former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak of three money laundering charges involving RM27mil from SRC International Sdn Bhd.
“That is the judge’s decision and the Attorney General’s. I do not interfere,” the Prime Minister said briefly when approached by reporters after performing Friday prayers at the Kampung Sri Aman Mosque here yesterday.
Anwar was commenting on High Court judge Justice K. Muniandy granting a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) to Najib yesterday following a request from the latter’s defence team, Bernama reported.
The grounds given by the judge was that the prosecution lacked the preparedness to proceed with trial and that the case had been postponed too many times since 2019.
The court was informed that the prosecution had yet to obtain the necessary documentary evidence.
The delay, the judge noted, had denied the accused the right to a fair and timely resolution of the case.
A DNAA means the accused is temporarily discharged from the charges, but may still be prosecuted for the same offences in the future if the prosecution decides to reinstate them.
The current case, which was discharged yesterday, involves three charges of money laundering involving RM27mil, allegedly received through Najib’s three AmPrivate Banking accounts at AmIslamic Bank Bhd, AmBank Group Building, Jalan Raja Chulan, on July 8, 2014.
Najib had on Feb 3, 2019, claimed trial to the charges under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001, which carries a maximum fine of RM5mil, up to five years’ imprisonment, or both, upon conviction.
The former Umno president is currently serving a jail term in Kajang Prison for another case of misappropriating RM42mil in SRC International funds.
On Sept 2, 2022, he filed a petition for a royal pardon. On Jan 29, 2024, the Pardons Board halved his jail sentence from 12 to six years and reduced his fine from RM210mil to RM50mil.
