KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak is unable to pay the RM50mil fine required as a condition for his house arrest because his bank accounts remain frozen, according to his lead defense counsel.
Speaking to reporters outside the High Court on Friday, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah revealed that the former prime minister lacks the financial means to satisfy the condition.
"A lot of people are asking if we are paying the fine today," Shafee said on Friday (Sept 25). "My answer until today is that Datuk Seri Najib himself cannot afford it. He himself cannot pay."
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Shafee explained that all of Najib's bank accounts—including an Affin Bank account where his official salary and allowances as former prime minister and Member of Parliament were credited—have been frozen by authorities.
When asked about the progress of Umno's public fundraising campaign to help cover the fine, Shafee stated he had no information on the total amount collected so far.
The lawyer spoke to the press following a court session regarding Najib’s application for a stay of execution on his prison sentence and fine in the RM2.28bil 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MBD) trial.
