Najib Arul Kanda Acquitted In 1mdb Audit Report Tampering Case

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The High Court on Friday (March 3) acquitted former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and former 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) president and chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy in the 1MDB audit report tampering trial.
(The Edge Markets) – Court of Appeal judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan, who presided over the case in the High Court, ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against Najib.
He agreed with Najib’s defence that there is no causal link between the amendments made in the first audit report and the purported alleged gratification.
“There is no evidence to explicitly prove that the second accused (Najib) had directed the amendments made to exonerate him from civil and criminal liability. He was merely concerned that the report would be spun politically.
“The prosecution has failed to prove how the items removed or amended could give to civil or criminal liability to Najib. In my opinion, the items taken out or amended from the earlier audit report would not give rise to criminal or civil liability to the accused. The amendments as stated by the auditor general (AG) are justified.
“I also observed that the items amended or taken out were known to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and openly discussed. Therefore, I find the presumption under Section 23 (2) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 could not apply as the prosecution had failed to prove gratification,” the judge said.
“He (Najib) is therefore acquitted and discharged,” Zaini added.
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