Najib’s 1MDB trial will see 3 or 4 more witnesses, court told
Published on: Tuesday, August 29, 2023
By:
FMT, Ho Kit Yen
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The prosecution tells the High Court 1MDB's former counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan (right) is also listed as a potential witness.
Kuala Lumpur: The prosecution in Najib Razak’s 1MDB trial expects to wrap up its case after calling another three or four witnesses.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib told the High Court they intend to call Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) analyst Adam Ariff Roslan tomorrow.
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He said two other investigating officers, Foo Wei Min and Nur Aida Arifin will also testify, while former 1MDB general counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan is listed as a potential witness.
Najib’s 1MDB trial began on Aug 28, 2019. So far, 46 witnesses have testified over the four-year period.
Asked by lawyer Shafee Abdullah whether Ashok Ramamurthy, an Australian national, will testify, Akram replied that the former AmBank CEO is not listed as a witness in the case.
Shafee also indicated that the defence intends to recall former AmBank managing director Cheah Tek Kuang, after former BNM governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz completed her testimony. He claimed that Cheah and Zeti had given contradictory statements during their testimony.
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Akram responded by telling Shafee that he ought to make a formal application to recall the witness.
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BNM has no power to act against individuals
Earlier the court heard the remainder of Zeti’s testimony.
She told the court that BNM is not empowered to take action against account holders over transactions in their accounts.
She said any action over “suspicious” transactions is within the purview of the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
“BNM is duty-bound to report to these agencies,” Zeti said, adding that it was then left to the police or MACC to investigate the matter.
The hearing continues before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah on Aug 30.
Najib is standing trial on 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering of alleged 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion that was deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.
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