KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 25): Imprisoned former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak does not have the RM50 million to secure his house arrest, said his lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
"Many people are asking whether we are going to pay the fine today or not. My answer up until today is that [Najib] himself simply cannot afford it. He himself cannot afford to pay," Najib's long-time lawyer told the press on Friday.
The Federal Territories Pardons Board, under the King, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, announced last Friday (Sept 18) that the ex-PM is allowed to serve the remainder of his reduced jail term under house arrest on the condition that he first pays the RM50 million fine.
In the SRC International Sdn Bhd case for which Najib is currently serving time, the Federal Court had upheld Najib's conviction for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering, as well as his 12-year imprisonment and RM210 million fine.
However, in 2024, the Pardons Board under then-King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah had reduced this to six years’ imprisonment and a RM50 million fine.
No idea what the latest sum collected by Umno's donation drive is
Shafee added that all of Najib's accounts were frozen, including his Affin Bank account, through which he received his salary while he was in government.
Najib's lawyers had also released a statement last week saying that the paying of the fine was out of their client's control, as most of his assets remain subject to freezing orders and enforcement proceedings.
The senior lawyer also added that he had "no idea" about the latest amount collected by Umno to aid its ex-president.
The “Najib Razak Solidarity Fund”, organised by the party, had raised more than RM1 million as of last Saturday (Sept 19).
Where are the millions from 1MDB? Shafee maintains monies spent on CSR, rest returned
On Friday, Shafee said that many may mock him over the statement, asking instead where the millions stolen from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) had gone.
"If you are asking me that question, it means you don't really understand and haven't been following the developments of this case in court," he said.
He once again repeated the arguments from the 1MDB case, where he said that Najib had received US$681 million and returned US$620 million. The monies had been utilised for corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes. Shafee stressed that Najib didn't keep a single cent.
This argument has already been dismissed by the High Court in its decision, which had found Najib guilty of four abuse of power and 21 money laundering charges in the 1MDB-Tanore case. Najib is appealing that decision.
It also has to be noted that the pardon decision is only limited to the SRC case, where Najib is accused of making pivotal decisions which led to RM4 billion of the public servants’ retirement fund, the Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP), to be squandered. RM42 million of that sum went into Najib’s personal bank account.