High Court discharges Najib in RM27m SRC case stalled since 2019, does not acquit
- Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in his final SRC International case involving RM27 million, due to prolonged trial delays.
- The High Court cited the nearly six-year stall since 2019 as denying Najib a timely resolution, making a DNAA the most appropriate order under the circumstances.
- Najib now faces only the ongoing 1MDB trial. He was previously convicted in one SRC case, and is currently serving his jail term. He had also been granted DNAA in the IPIC proceeding before.
KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was today granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in his final criminal case involving SRC International Sdn Bhd funds amounting to RM27 million, after trial has stalled since 2019.
The decision was delivered by High Court Judge K. Muniandy during today’s hearing on whether to set new trial dates or grant a DNAA as previously applied by the defence.
Muniandy said the rule of law was applicable to prevent such a detrimental situation whereby an accused person is saddled with criminal charges with no outcome for an indefinite and indeterminate period.
“The prolonged wait for trial has become a long haul for the accused person, denying him of a timely resolution,” he said.
“This court is also mindful of the prevailing fact that the preferred charges against the accused date back to the offence being committed in the year 2014, now it is 2025, and the case has not taken off for trial.
“By the virtue of these factors, the most appropriate order is for this court to discharge the accused person without acquitting him so he’s not saddled with the charges preferred against him,” he added.
With today’s DNAA, Najib has only the 1MDB trial still pending.
He is currently serving a jail term for the misappropriation of RM42 million in the SRC International funds case.
He was also previously acquitted over the removal of key information from the auditor-general’s 2016 report on 1MDB; and granted a DNAA in his RM6.6 billion International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) criminal breach of trust case.
Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah had previously suggested to court to grant his client a DNAA in the interest of justice as trial has been indefinitely postponed since 2019.
A DNAA means an accused person can face trial for the same charges in the future if the prosecution decides to reinstate them.
The prosecution previously sought the court to grant a further extension to allow for the compilation of voluminous trial documents after indicating it was prepared to proceed with trial, following the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) recent rejection of a representation submitted by Najib two years ago.
Noting the court’s inherent power to discharge an accused person without acquitting him which should only be exercised sparingly and grudgingly, Muniandy said there was nothing to show that the case can be prosecuted expeditiously in the short future.
“It behoves this court to comprehend that, even if the documentary proof is procured and gathered, it has to be delivered to the accused person for him to adequately prepare his defence after consulting his counsel.
“Meanwhile, the likelihood of further postponement of the trial is inevitable,” he said.
In fact, Muniandy said that the DNAA order does not prejudice the prosecution as they are free to re-charge Najib when they are ready to proceed with the case.
“The DPP had graciously conceded in this court to a question put to him, if the prosecution would be prejudiced, if an order of DNAA as prayed for by counsel for the accused is allowed, and his answer was a resounding no,” he said.
On February 3, 2019, the former prime minister claimed trial to the three charges of money laundering by accepting illegal proceeds amounting to RM27 million through his three AmPrivate Banking accounts at AmIslamic Bank Berhad, AmBank Group Building, Jalan Raja Chulan on July 8, 2014.
He was charged under Section 4 (1) (a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001, which is punishable by a maximum fine of RM5 million or imprisonment of up to five years, or both upon conviction.
Najib is currently imprisoned at the Kajang prison, as he is serving his jail term — now reduced to six years — after the Federal Court upheld his conviction in August 2022 over a separate criminal case involving SRC International Sdn Bhd’s RM42 million.
For his ongoing 1MDB trial, Najib’s lawyers and the prosecution are to make their final arguments in court over nine days from October 21 to October 24 and from October 27 to October 31.
[Source: Malay Mail]
