PUTRAJAYA: The money laundering charges against Datuk Seri Najib Razak cannot be sustained, as he did not instruct for RM2.08bil to be deposited into his AmBank account, the High Court hears.
Najib’s defence lawyer, Datuk Tania Scivetti, on Tuesday (Oct 29) said the deposit was an act by former Ambank relationship manager Joanna Yu, who took instructions from fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, who had no authority over the account.
Scivetti argued that the prosecution failed to prove that Najib himself had directed AmIslamic Bank to convert two remittances in US dollars into nine credits in Malaysian Ringgit of equivalent value, which were then received into his personal account.
Scivetti, who was making her submissions in Najib's graft trial involving RM2.28bil linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), said Yu's testimony had proven that Najib had no role in initiating or authorising the currency conversions.
According to Scivetti, the evidence was clear as the witness testified that she never communicated directly with Najib regarding the conversion of US$681mil into the local currency.
She said this was further supported by Najib’s own testimony that he never authorised Jho Low or former 1MDB CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil (who is currently at large) to make any foreign currency conversions.
“Datuk Seri Najib’s testimony is consistent with the contemporaneous mandate letter, which expressly reserved to him personally the authority to approve such transactions.
“Under that mandate, AmBank was required to obtain Datuk Seri Najib’s approval for any external instructions beyond the limited scope granted to Nik Faisal as the mandate holder for his personal account.
“Standard banking practice requires bank officers to document all transaction instructions, especially those made via Blackberry messages (BBM) or by phone, to ensure accountability and auditability.
“This is even more crucial when the account holder is the Prime Minister, a position clearly qualifying as a ‘politically exposed person’ (PEP), which by anti-money laundering regulations is highly vulnerable to abuse of power,” she said.
Scivetti said the prosecution also did not produce any records to prove that Yu had received the alleged instructions from Low.
She added that the evidence showed Najib neither instructed, approved, nor authorised the conversion of US$620mil and US$61mil into Ringgit Malaysia, which resulted in RM2.08bil being credited into his personal account.
“Therefore, we submit that without proving that the instruction originated from Datuk Seri Najib, the money laundering charges cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” she 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 abuse of power offences were allegedly committed at an AmIslamic Bank Bhd branch, Jalan Raja Chulan, Bukit Ceylon between Feb 24, 2011 and Dec 19, 2014.
Meanwhile, the money laundering offences were allegedly committed at the same location between March 22 and Aug 30, 2013.
Najib is currently serving his prison sentence since Aug 23, 2022, after being convicted in a separate criminal trial over the misappropriation of RM42mil from SRC International Sdn Bhd.
The hearing continues before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah on Wednesday (Oct 29).
