KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 29): Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has just filed his defence statement to answer the four abuse of power and 21 money-laundering charges that he is facing in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd-Tanore (1MDB-Tanore) trial, the hearing of which is set for Monday (Dec 2) before trial judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
The document was filed by Messrs Shafee & Co, and comprises two volumes covering a total of 525 pages.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib confirmed this when contacted by The Edge, saying the prosecution had received the document via email at 5.48pm on Friday.
On Oct 30, Sequerah had ordered Najib to enter his defence, after the judge ruled there is a prima facie case against the former finance minister.
The prosecution had produced 50 witnesses, who testified over a span of six years, to prove Najib has a case to answer for.
Najib is charged with four counts of abuse of power and 21 money-laundering charges concerning RM2.28 billion of 1MDB funds.
In calling Najib to enter his defence, Sequerah, when speaking on the abuse of power charges, said the monies gained from the 1MDB loans were used not for the government or the country's benefit, but instead for Najib.
"There were sums of money generated from 1MDB that found their way into the accused's accounts and related to his own benefit. This showed that he had vested interests in 1MDB.
"1MDB had taken loans, which had not brought benefit to the government and the country. Following this, this court sees no merit in Najib's defence statement, which was recorded in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) statement,” the judge had said.
As a person who is charged under the MACC Act, the accused is required to tender his defence before the trial for the court to consider.
On the money-laundering charges, the judge said Najib was “wilfully blind” and not willing to inquire into the source of the funds entering his AmBank accounts, when he should have done so.
Najib had maintained that the monies in the accounts were a result of donations he received from the Saudi royalty.