Najib didn't even visit the bank: Lawyer Shafee criticises RM60 million abuse of power charge in 1MDB case

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 – Prosecutors wrongly accused former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak of abusing his power to obtain 60 million ringgit for himself by not even going to the bank in the case against 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), his lawyer told the High Court today.

In the 1MDB trial, Najib is accused of four counts of abuse of power. Among other things, he is alleged to have used his position as Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Chairman of the 1MDB Advisory Board to fraudulently obtain an amount of RM60,629,839.43 at the Jalan Raja Chulan branch of AmIslamic Bank between February 24, 2011 and June 14, 2011.

But Najib's lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah stressed that the prosecution had accused his client of abusing his power at AmIslamic Bank, rather than accusing him of committing the crime in other places, such as the finance minister's office or the prime minister's office or in places related to his position as chairman of 1MDB's advisory board.

“This crime, they categorically stated, was committed by my client at AmIslamic Bank, namely, he abused his power at AmIslamic Bank.

“But Yang Arif, we know from the various prosecution testimonies that money was deposited into my client's account at AmIslamic Bank. That is your case. So you are saying that receiving the reward is the crime,” he said.

But Shafee questioned the prosecution's charges, saying they contradicted other cases, such as the SRC International Sdn Bhd case. He noted: “My client said so, he wasn't even at the bank.”

“So, Yang Arif, unlike SRC, unlike all the cases, the prosecution actually formulated this charge in a very convoluted way, and they got it wrong,” he claimed, questioning the prosecution's charge that accused Najib of abusing his power at the bank rather than getting a reward or money from the bank.

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