PUTRAJAYA: The prosecution witnesses in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s RM2.28bil 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) graft trial only blamed others in order to absolve themselves of any wrongdoing, the High Court told.
Najib’s lawyer Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin said this was evident from the testimonies of former 1MDB CEOs Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman, and former chief financial officer Azmi Tahir.
In his submissions, Wan Azwan said the key prosecution witnesses’ inclination to ‘shift the blame’ was a deliberate attempt to conceal their own crimes but the dishonesty was clearly exposed during the trial itself.
According to the lawyer, Shahrol Azral had previously claimed that Exhibit P52 (a letter requesting the immediate issuance of a letter of support for 1MDB’s joint venture with Aabar Investments) was prepared by 1MDB’s legal counsel Jasmine Loo.
“However, Loo, when giving her testimony, told the court she could not recall preparing such a letter,” he said here yesterday.
Wan Azwan pointed to another situation that occurred with several documents allegedly approved by the Finance Ministry under Section 6 of the Loans Guarantee (Bodies Corporate) Act 1965.
“When Loo was still in hiding, Shahrol Azral claimed that she had obtained Datuk Seri Najib’s signature, but Loo completely denied that allegation.
“If there is a pattern emerging from the prosecution witnesses’ testimonies, it can be summarised into three main points; blame Najib, blame the late Datuk Azlin Alias (Najib’s former principal private secretary), and blame those who have fled,” he said.
Najib is facing four counts of using his position to obtain RM2.28bil gratification from 1MDB’s funds and 21 counts of money laundering involving the same amount.
The submissions continue before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah today.
