1mdb Najib Asks Why No Action Against Zeti Husband

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1MDB TRIAL | Najib Abdul Razak has questioned why the authorities took no action against former Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz and her husband Tawfiq Ayman.
The former prime minister told the Kuala Lumpur High Court this afternoon that this was a sign that the RM2.27 billion abuse of power and money laundering trial against him was political prosecution.
Najib was referring to his long-standing claim that 1MDB-linked fugitive Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) channeled funds to the family of Zeti, who was one of the key prosecution witnesses.
"To date, no action has been taken against Zeti, who was the governor of BNM at the material time, or her husband, Tawfiq, despite clear evidence of their involvement.
"Instead, I have been singled out as the sole individual aggressively pursued by the MACC.
"This glaring disparity underscores a deliberate and targeted agenda of political prosecution against me, characterised by biased and unfair investigations, and the calculated decision to shield others complicit in Low's schemes, including Zeti and her husband, for accountability," Najib told judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
In the course of the trial, Zeti testified that her family never received money from Low.
Tawfiq also previously rubbished former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner’s bribery allegation against him.
At the New York Eastern District Court, Leissner alleged that Zeti's husband received a bribe to get billions of dollars wired overnight to Malaysia for the 1MDB-Petrosaudi International Limited joint venture.
Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Tim LeissnerLeissner is awaiting sentencing over a criminal court case there linked to 1MDB.
Charges
On Oct 30, the court ordered Najib to enter his defence over four abuse of power and 21 money laundering charges involving RM2.27 billion of funds from 1MDB.
Sequerah ruled that the prosecution succeeded in establishing a prima facie (answerable) case against Najib over the company that is wholly owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc).
The judge ruled that Najib had to answer the charges due to the strength of the various 50 witness testimonies during the prosecution stage of proceedings that lasted six years since the trial began in 2019. The accused was first charged in 2018.
Ex-PM Najib Abdul RazakProsecutors claimed that Low was involved in the financial wrongdoing at 1MDB at the behest of Najib.
However, the former Pekan MP contended that he had no knowledge of wrongdoing at the sovereign wealth fund, and the embezzlement there was solely perpetrated by Low and members of its management.
Najib is serving a six-year jail sentence over a separate abuse of power case involving RM42 million of funds from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
He is also facing an ongoing criminal trial for the RM27 million SRC money laundering case.
Previously, Najib was acquitted in another criminal case involving 1MDB’s audit report.
He was also granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal on Nov 27 in the RM6.6 billion International Petroleum Investment Company criminal breach of trust case.
Trial before judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah resumes tomorrow. - Mkini

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