Najib’s SRC Trial: Defence Say Najib a Victim of Conspiracy

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Najib Razak is a victim of a conspiracy that involved Low Taek Jho and former SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, as well as rogue bankers, the defence said in its closing submission today.

Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told the Kuala Lumpur High Court the defence’s case proved to be more complicated than expected due to the number of personalities involved and “prejudice” the former prime minister suffered by virtue of his position.

“It is important to remind this court that when we appeared before Yang Arif, we did express our worry about the kind of prejudice that this case was going to receive, both in the public (and private) domain and that, possibly, it would creep in the judicial circle as well,” Shafee told judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.

“This is a case that has become complicated simply because of the personalities involved. Namely, that there is this man with immense power who was the prime minister.

“And, therefore, I would say by virtue of the position that he was in, there’s a lot of prejudice that could be drawn against him, like some of the questions my learned friend (ad hoc prosecutor V Sithambaram) had raised, saying that as a man of knowledge and a man of finance, how could he not be aware of the full circumstances of the money coming into his account?

Hairul Anuar Rahim/NST

“The truth of the matter is that it has become complicated for us to produce the best defence possible. Namely because our defence, which is a defence of stating the truth, that Najib himself is a victim of (a) scam and series of misrepresentations by the likes of Jho Low and Nik Faisal and a bunch of rogue bankers, like Joanna Yu and other senior management of SRC.”

Shafee said the fact that Najib was surrounded by the people who scammed him made it easy for the public and the court to be fortified in a belief that the circumstances surrounding the former prime minister would hence deprive him of defence available to a common man.

The defence has consistently maintained that Najib was never aware of the source of the RM42 million that entered his accounts between December 2014 and February 2015, the source of which the prosecution has not been able to convincingly determine either.

Shafee said evidence showed that executives and rogue bankers carried out instructions at the behest of Jho Low for the latter’s own interest, who devised elaborate machinations to suit his own purposes that Najib was not aware of.

Later in the afternoon, Shafee applied for oral submissions to continue for another day tomorrow as one of the defence counsels supposed to submit today, Harvinderjit Singh, was unable to attend proceedings this afternoon.

Shafee assured the court that he and Harvinderjit would be able to conclude their submissions by noon tomorrow.

In allowing the application, judge Nazlan reminded the defence that if Harvinderjit was still unable to attend court tomorrow, the defence would still need to conclude their oral submissions regardless.

Nazlan had initially scheduled three days from June 1 to June 3 to hear the oral submissions by both the defence and the prosecution.


Earlier reports:

Jun 3, Najib’s SRC Trial: Prosecution Say Have Proven Case Against Najib

Jun 2, Najib’s SRC Trial: Defence Discredits Ex-Minister

Jun 2, Najib’s SRC Trial: Defence Says Don’t Convict Najib Based on “Court of Public Opinion”

Jun 1, Najib’s SRC Trial: Defence Lawyers Argu It Wasn’t Najib, Blame Jho Low and Nik Faisal

Mar 11, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 90

Mar 10, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 89

Mar 9, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 88

Mar 9, Latheefa and Shafee Visibly Upset with Each Other

Mar 9, Apandi Stands by 2016 Statements Clearing Najib of Wrongdoing

Mar 5, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 87

Mar 4, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 86

Mar 3, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 85

Mar 2, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 84

Feb 27, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 83

Feb 26, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 82

Feb 24, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 81

Feb 17, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 80

Feb 13, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 79

Feb 13, Anifah Says Improper for Najib to Buy Channel Watch with Saudi Donation

Feb 11, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 78

Feb 10, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 77

Feb 10, Former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia: Najib, Not King Abdullah Told Me About Donation

Feb 5, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 76

Feb 4, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 75

Feb 3, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 74

Jan 23, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 73

Jan 23, Stumbling for Answers at SRC Trial, Najib Is Schooled on Court Proceedings

Jan 22, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 72

Jan 22, Court Allows Najib to Call Expert to Verify Signatures

Jan 21, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 71

Jan 20, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 70

Jan 9, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 69

Jan 8, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 68

Jan 7, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 67

Jan 6, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 66

Jan 6, Prosecution’s Application to Impeach Najib Dismissed, Judge Ruled No Contradictions Given

Dec 20, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 65

Dec 18, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 64

Dec 18, Najib’s Defence Like Infamous VK Lingam’s Looks Like Me, Sounds Like Me, but Not Me

Dec 12, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 63

Dec 10, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 62

Dec 10, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 61

Dec 9, RM500K Birthday Watch for Rosmah, RM3.3M Jewellery Gift for Ex-Qatar PM’s Wife

Dec 5, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 60

Dec 3, Najb’s SRC Trial: Day 59

Dec 3, Najib’s Day in Court

Aug 27, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 58

Aug 23, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 57

Aug 22, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 56

Aug 20, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 55

Aug 19, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 54

Aug 14, SRC Trial Postponed as Najib Down with Sore Eyes

Aug 13, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 52

Aug 9, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 51

Aug 7, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 50

Aug 6, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 49

Aug 5, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 48

Aug 1, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 47

July 31, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 46

July 29, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 45

July 25, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 44

July 24, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 43 Vacated

July 23, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 42

July 22, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 41

July 18, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 40

July 17, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 39

July 16, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 38

July 15, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 37

July 11, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 36

July 10, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 35

July 9, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 34

July 8, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 33

July 3, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 32

July 3, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 31

July 1, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 30

June 20, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 29

June 19, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 28

June 18, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 27

June 17, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 26

June 14, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 25

June 13, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 24

June 12, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 23

June 11, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 22

June 10, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 21

May 28, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 20

May 27, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 19

May 15, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 18

May 14, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 17

May 9, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 16

May 8, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 15

May 7, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 14

May 7, Najib Fails in Second Bid to Remove Sri Ram as 1MDB Lead Prosecutor

May 7, Najib Signed Guarantee Letter for RM2B KWAP Loan to SRC, KWAP Rules Breached

May 6, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 13

May 2, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 12

May 2, RM1M Golden Handshake in Final Month as PM for Najib

Apr 30, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 11

Apr 29, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day 10

Apr 29, Court Throws Out Najib’s Application to Strike Out 7 SRC Charges, Trial to Go On

Apr 25, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Nine

Apr 24, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Eight

Apr 24, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Seven

Apr 22, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Six

Apr 18, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Five

Apr 17, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Four

Apr 16, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Three

Apr 15, Najib’s SRC Trial: Day Two

Apr 3, Najib Trial: Day One