Najib 1mdb Trial Day 1 Second Witness Takes The Stand

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The criminal trial of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak involving the alleged abuse of power and money laundering of 1MDB funds begins today at the Kuala Lumpur High Court
Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the proceedings
KEY HIGHLIGHTSSecond witness takes the standFirst witness takes the standProsecution aims to prove that Najib interfered with 1MDB probe21 Amla charges will be proved through direct, circumstantial evidence'Najib was the mirror image of Jho Low''Ex-PM abused his power to obtain gratification for himself''Najib was the plenipotentiary of 1MDB''Trial may be declared null if appeals against Sri Ram succeed'1MDB trial kicks offNajib's defence teamSecond witness takes the stand11am - Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah ends his brief cross-examination of deputy cabinet secretary Farizah Ahmad after asking her if she was aware of Najib Abdul Razak's other positions in statutory bodies
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib then asks for the second prosecution witness, Natasha Rahimah Haryati Mohamad, to take the stand
Natasha Rahimah is an accountant in the Finance Division of the Prime Minister's Department
First witness takes the stand10.58am - The prosecution wraps up its examination-in-chief of first witness Farizah Ahmad
Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah then begins cross-examining the witness
10.35am - The first prosecution witness, Farizah Ahmad, takes the stand for examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram after lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram wraps up his opening statement
Farizah, the deputy cabinet secretary, then answers questions on Najib's appointment defence minister, and later as finance minister and prime minister. Prosecution aims to prove that Najib interfered with 1MDB probe10.30am - Concluding his opening statement, lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram tells the court that it will be established that former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and businessperson Low Taek Jho had taken steps to cover their tracks in the 1MDB case
The prosecution will also produce evidence to show that Najib had taken steps to evade justice, and interfered with investigations into the state investment firm
"After the 1MDB scandal broke in early July 2015, the accused with his mirror image Low took steps to cover his tracks. "Sham documents were produced to pretend a donation from an Arab prince. Among these were letters and four cheques each for a sum of US$25 million (RM105.2 million) purportedly written out by a person said to be the Arab donor. "But these cheques were never meant to be cashed and were never cashed
"The prosecution will also produce evidence to show that the accused took active steps to evade justice. "He interfered with the course of investigation of this case, which has come to be known as the 1MDB scandal. He took active steps to effect a cover-up of his criminal acts. "The prosecution will rely on all this evidence to show that the accused had the requisite mens rea when the offences with which he is charged were committed," says Sri Ram
21 Amla charges will be proved through direct, circumstantial evidence10.20am - The prosecution will attempt to establish that Najib Abdul Razak is guilty of the 21 money laundering charges against him through direct and circumstantial evidence, the court hears
Lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram says it will be shown that in all circumstances of the case, Najib had committed the offence, which is against Section 4(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, and Anti Terrorism-Financing Act 2001
'Najib was the mirror image of Jho Low'10.15am - The prosecution tells the court that it aims to prove that businessperson Low Taek Jho was the "mirror image" of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak when it came to 1MDB
Lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram says in his opening statement that Low began to be involved in 1MDB when it was still known as the Terengganu Investment Authority
"The prosecution will prove that the accused, by his words and conduct, made it clear to 1MDB’s officers, its board and others that Low was his alter ego
"In truth, Low was the accused’s mirror image. "The prosecution will establish facts which will give rise to an irresistible inference that Low and the accused acted as one at all material times," he says
Sri Ram adds that an elaborate "charade" was employed in the 1MDB case, with Low featuring as a prominent character
While this "charade" played out in four phases involving several characters, he says, Najib was the one who played a pivotal role with the objective of enriching himself
"Although this case concerns four phases, the events in respect of them are to be considered as part of a consecutive story because of the pre-arranged plan by the accused to enrich himself."'Ex-PM abused his power to obtain gratification for himself'10.10am - Najib Abdul Razak abused his positions to exert influence on the board of 1MDB, lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram (photo) says in his opening statement
Besides being the prime minister and finance minister at the time, Najib also chaired 1MDB's board of advisers
Sri Ram says that Najib exerted this influence to make 1MDB carry out "certain abnormal transactions with undue haste.""The ultimate aim of the accused was to obtain gratification for himself," he tells the court. "He succeeded in achieving that aim."'Najib was the plenipotentiary of 1MDB'10.08am - In his opening statement, Gopal Sri Ram says that the prosecution will attempt to prove that former premier Najib Abdul Razak was the plenipotentiary of 1MDB
The deputy public prosecutor states that Najib was instrumental in amending articles of the company, which then allowed him full control over its affairs
The former premier, he adds, also played a part in changing the name of the Terengganu Investment Authority to 1MDB
"In short, he was its plenipotentiary."'Trial may be declared null if appeals against Sri Ram succeed'10.05am - Before lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram can kick off the hearing with his opening statement, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (photo) requests to make his own
The lead defence counsel tells the court about the appeals – from both Najib Abdul Razak and himself – against the appointment of Sri Ram as a deputy public prosecutor in 1MDB-related cases
He points out that on Monday, the Court of Appeal granted leave for a judicial review to be heard by the Kuala Lumpur High Court
Shafee clarifies that he is not applying for the 1MDB hearing to be further postponed, but only that he wants it on record that the trial may be nullified or the accused acquited if Sri Ram's appointment is found to be unlawful
Sri Ram, a former Federal Court judge, says that the prosecution has a different opinion on the matter, and that the trial can start
He is then allowed to continue, and begins reading out his statement
1MDB trial kicks off9.53am - Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah (photo) enters the court, marking the start of the much anticipated 1MDB trial against former premier Najib Abdul Razak
Lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram begins by reading out the names of counsels from both parties who will be involved in the trial
9.50am - The accused enters the dock
Najib's defence team9.40am - The lawyers who will be defending former premier Najib Abdul Razak in the trial include:Muhammad Shafee AbdullahTania ScivettiAl Firdaus Shahrul NaingSyazwani ZawawiNur Fazreen Hazrina RahimWan Aizuddin Wan MohammedRahmat HazlanMuhammad Farhan ShafeeS MardhiyahT ChelvakumarSyahirah HanapiahZahria Eleena RedzaNajib enters the court9.32am - Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak enters the court and takes a seat in the front row of the public gallery
Lead prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram is expected to read out his opening statement today as former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak stands trial for over 25 counts of power abuse and laundering RM2.28 billion of 1MDB funds
With the prosecution closing its case in Najib's RM42 million SRC International trial yesterday, the long-awaited 1MDB hearing can now begin before Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah
After Sri Ram delivers his opening statement, the prosecution is expected to call on at least two of six formal witnesses, some of whom also testified in the SRC International trial
This is due to both the 1MDB and SRC International cases sharing the same money trail – especially in terms of Najib's personal AmBank accounts allegedly linked to the RM2.28 billion
The 1MDB matter involves the largest set of charges against Najib
He is charged on four counts of obtaining RM2.28 billion from 1MDB. The remaining 21 charges are for money laundering via receiving, spending and returning the RM2.08 billion donation (as it was valued at the time) from Tanore Finance Corporation
- Mkini

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