Sufficient Evidence To Show Najib Abused Power Says Prosecutor

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Prosecution submits that the conduct of the accused in relation to SRC was beyond the exercise of the lawful duty of a prime minister and finance minister.KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court in Najib Razak’s SRC International trial today heard there is clear evidence to show the ex-prime minister had a personal interest in the affairs of the company, resulting in him abusing his power
Ad-hoc prosecutor V Sithambaram said Najib was the person behind the setting up of the company in 2011 and that he had also appointed Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil as its first director
“Najib then appointed Nik Faisal as his mandate holder to deal with his private accounts in Ambank where SRC money flowed in,” Sithambaram said in his submission at the close of the defence case
He said SRC’s constitution was amended to allow Najib to appoint and remove SRC directors and company executives
He said Najib’s control was also evident as SRC shares were transferred to 1MDB, resulting in the latter coming under the control of the Minister of Finance Incorporated
Sithambaram said Najib, who was also finance minister then, was responsible for urging the management of the pensioners’ fund (KWAP) to expeditiously approve a loan totalling RM4 billion in 2011 and 2012,Further, he said, the accused also ensured the government guarantee was issued at lightning speed for KWAP to release the funds
“In fact, two prosecution witnesses testified that events leading to SRC getting the loan were something extraordinary.”Sithambaram said nothing happened in SRC for seven years until the accused lost power in 2018, except for SRC being in debt to the tune of RM9.3 billion
“Everything went through the accused but nothing mattered in the company.”Sithambaram said the accused even kept away his then second finance minister Ahmad Husni Handazlah from the company’s affairs to prevent anyone knowing about his hold on SRC
“Husni gave evidence in this court that the accused told him not to interfere in SRC and 1MDB.”Sithambaram said Najib also prevented Husni from leading a delegation to Switzerland to repatriate SRC funds frozen in a bank on grounds that this would be taken care of by the company’s directors
“Viewed collectively, the conduct of the accused in relation to SRC was beyond the exercise of the lawful duty of a prime minister and finance minister“The irresistible inference to be concluded is that the accused did have an interest which was more than simply a professional one,” he said, adding that the prosecution had proven that Najib had abused his power
Sithambaram said the prosecution had also proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt on the remaining six charges for misappropriation and money laundering
“This court must apply the objective test from the perspective of decent people whether the evidence of the accused is believable,”Najib, 66, is facing three counts of criminal breach of trust, one charge of abusing his position and three counts of money laundering over SRC funds amounting to RM42 million
The Pekan MP is charged with committing the offences at AmIslamic Bank Bhd on Jalan Raja Chulan and the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya between Aug 17, 2011 and Feb 10, 2015. - FMT

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