Major Graft Cases Involving Politicians May See Conclusion In 2022

---

 
Najib Razak, Rosmah Mansor and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi are among the high-profile cases whose trials will grab the limelight this year.KUALA LUMPUR: Several high-profile corruption trials, including those of five MPs, will be the focus of attention in the new year.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, proceedings involving the MPs – except one case involving Najib Razak – should come to a conclusion.
However, the possibility that some cases may be withdrawn by the public prosecutor cannot be ruled out.
With the exception of Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng, all the accused were charged either in 2018 or 2019.
The former prime minister’s appeal in the RM42 million SRC International case could come to an end as the Federal Court is set to hear the matter by June and a verdict delivered by the end of 2022.
Last month, the Court of Appeal affirmed his 12-year jail term and a fine of RM210 million on charges of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering.
Najib’s 1MDB audit report trial for abuse of power will resume in March and the prosecution could close its case by June after calling another five witnesses.
A verdict or a decision to call him to make his defence could be determined in the second half of the year.
However, Najib’s 1MDB corruption and money laundering trial involving RM2.3 billion will likely stretch into 2023 as the prosecution has called only 25% of its witnesses so far.
Former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is facing 12 CBT charges – eight for corruption and 27 for money laundering – with money involved totalling RM117 million.
The High Court will rule on Jan 24 whether the Umno president and Bagan Datuk MP will be acquitted or told to enter his defence, in which case the trial could end by the end of the year.
Zahid is facing another 40 charges of receiving gratification in the implementation of the foreign visa system and the prosecution will close its case after calling another 10 witnesses.
This case could also be concluded next year even if the trial judge wants to hear the defence story.
Kinabatangan MP and Sabah deputy chief minister Bung Moktar Radin, a former non-executive chairman of Felcra, is charged with three counts of taking a bribe amounting to RM3 million from public mutual investment agents through his wife, Zizie Ezette.
So far, 24 prosecution witnesses have testified, with the last one turning hostile, meaning his evidence in court departed from what he had earlier told investigators.
Three more witnesses, including a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer, will testify when the trial resumes on Jan 14.
Other high-profile cases involve Bung Moktar Radin, Abdul Azeez Rahim, Lim Guan Eng and Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.Former Tabung Haji chairman and Baling MP Abdul Azeez Rahim is charged with three counts of bribery involving RM5.2 million and 10 money laundering charges amounting to RM13.9 million.
The Baling MP had applied to strike out the charges claiming they are groundless, and the matter is pending a decision in the Court of Appeal.
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng is standing trial on charges of using his position to ask a company director for a 10% cut of the profits from the Penang undersea tunnel project, and accepting RM3.3 million in kickbacks.
He is also accused of two counts of dishonestly misappropriating and giving away RM208.7 million worth of state land to two companies.
His trial started in July and the prosecution has so far called 20 witnesses, with another 80 to go.
Meanwhile, the corruption trial of Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, who is charged with soliciting RM187.5 million and accepting RM6.5 million from a businessman for securing a solar project in Sarawak, is expected to come to a close in February
Trial judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan will have to decide whether to acquit or convict the 70-year-old at the close of the defence case.
The money laundering trial of Najib’s lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, involving RM9.5 million, could also be be concluded this year as the prosecution will close its case after calling two more witnesses.
Lawyer A Srimurugan said nothing was certain about the ongoing cases until their verdicts were delivered.
“The attorney-general still retains control over the pending proceedings as he has discretion to withdraw the charges or not to file an appeal,” he said.
Srimurugan said public perception was that the attorney-general was a government appointee, and that they could not be faulted for having such an opinion based on past incidents.
The lawyer was referring to the prosecution’s withdrawal of Pontian MP Ahmad Maslan’s money laundering charge and that of giving false statements to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
On Sept 29, the Umno secretary-general was freed of the charges after informing the trial judge that he had paid a RM1.1 million compound.
The prosecution also withdrew its corruption appeal in the Federal Court, though the Court of Appeal was split in its ruling, on Putrajaya MP Tengku Adnan Mansor’s case. Tengku Adnan was charged with having received RM2 million as a political donation from a businessman. - FMT

---