KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak cannot afford the RM50mil fine that he must pay as a prerequisite in the conditional pardon to go under house arrest, says his lawyer.
Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said his client does not have the funds to pay the fine.
Muhammad Shafee said Najib’s bank accounts, including an Affin Bank account where he received his salary as the prime minister and an MP, have been frozen.
The senior lawyer said he was inundated with questions about whether Najib would pay the fine yesterday, eight days after the conditional pardon was announced.
“A lot of people are asking if we are paying the fine today. My answer until today is that Datuk Seri Najib himself could not afford it.
“He himself cannot pay,” Muhammad Shafee said at a press conference after appearing before the High Court in a case management for Najib’s stay application in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial.
Muhammad Shafee said there were those who sarcastically questioned where did the billions from 1MDB go to, which he described as “a dumb question”.
“The testimonies clearly showed he did not have the money. That money was returned to the same account that sent it to him, the one where he thought was a donation from Saudi,” he added.
Muhammad Shafee also said Najib did not seek public contribution to pay the fine.
“He did not ask for it, someone else did it. He is in a dilemma because he should pay but he does not have the money,” Muhammad Shafee said.
On Sept 18, Deputy Prime Minister and Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that the party launched a nationwide donation drive to assist Najib in settling the RM50mil.
Just a day later, the collection reportedly surpassed the RM1mil mark. When asked for the latest collection figure, Muhammad Shafee said: “I do not know.”
Najib, who was convicted in the RM42mil SRC International Sdn Bhd case, was originally sentenced to 12 years in jail and a RM210mil fine by the High Court.
In 2024, the Pardons Board halved his jail time and the RM210mil fine was reduced to RM50mil.
On Sept 18, he was granted the conditional pardon allowing him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest, subject to several conditions.
