Replacing Mohd Sofian Abd Razak whose brother held a position in Umno and the Pahang state government.
High Court judge Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali will be presiding over the criminal cases of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who has been charged with criminal breach of trust and abuse of power involving RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.
According to the criminal high court 3 case list, Nazlan will hear Najib’s case, which has been fixed for August 8 (next Wednesday) at 9am.
Nazlan, 51, from new commercial court 1, replaces judge Mohd Sofian Abd Razak who had recorded Najib’s plea.
Sofian has been transferred to civil court 10. The transfers took effect yesterday, as the transfer letters were signed by Chief Judge of Malaya Zaharah Ibrahim on July 24.
Nazlan, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Jurisprudence and a Master of Arts from the University of Oxford, is a Barrister at Law of Lincoln’s Inn.
Before joining the judiciary, he worked at the Securities Commission and Maybank.He also practised at Zaid Ibrahim & Co for five years as a partner.
On July 4, Najib, 65, pleaded not guilty before Sofian to three counts of CBT and one count of abuse of power involving SRC International Sdn Bhd funds totalling RM42 million.
It was reported that the Malaysian Bar had called for Sofian to recuse himself from the case as his elder brother, Mohd Soffi, held a position in Umno and the Pahang state government.
However, the Federal Court Chief Registrar’s Office, in a statement issued on July 6, said the selection of Sofian to preside over the trial of Najib was done randomly through its e-filing portal.
Earlier reports:
July 27, Najib’s Trial Expected to be Heard by New Judge
Jul 6, Judge in Najib’s Case Should Have Disclosed His Brother in Umno
Jul 5, Judge in Najib’s Case is Brother of Umno Pahang Exco Member