Najib has no case to answer, says defence
(NST) – Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s lawyers today argued that the former Prime Minister should be acquitted of all charges without his defence being called in the SRC International case, as the prosecution has failed to establish a prima facie case against him.
They argued that Najib has no case to answer, as the bulk of evidence relating to his involvement in the events leading up to the government’s decision to grant Government Guarantees (GGs) for an RM4 billion loan to SRC did not establish the existence of a corrupt arrangement which Najib was party to.
They said the evidence also does not establish any nexus between Najib’s participation in matters connected with the government’s decision to grant the GGs to SRC in 2011 and 2012, and RM42 million that was transferred into the former Finance Minister’s accounts in 2014 and 2015.
Instead, the lawyers argued that the evidence showed that the transactions involving the RM42 million were carried out without Najib’s knowledge and involvement.
“The bulk of the evidence, in fact, leads to a reasonable inference that I did the transactions involving the RM42 million at the behest of others for their own ulterior purpose and benefit.
“The conclusion, therefore, is that the RM42 million cannot be said to amount to ‘gratification’,” Najib’s lawyers argued in the summary of their submission before High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.
Najib, 66, is accused of using his office for gratification, three charges of Criminal Breach of Trust and three charges of money laundering.
The prosecution called 57 witnesses over 57 days before submissions began today.
Najib was represented by Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Harvinderjit Singh, Farhan Read, Rahmat Hazlan, Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee, and Syahirah Hanapiah.
The prosecution is led by Attorney General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas, Datuk V. Sithambaram, Datuk Sulaiman Abdullah, Manoj Kurup, Ishak Mohd Yusoff, Datuk Suhaimi Ibrahim, Donald Joseph Franklin, Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi, Budiman Lutfi Mohamed, Sulaiman Kho Kheng Fuei, Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul and Muhammad Izzat Fauzan.
