Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been acquitted of a charge of alleged abuse of power by causing amendments to the 1MDB audit report.
The High Court also cleared former 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy of a charge of abetting Najib in the commission of the offence.
According to the judgment, the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against Najib under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.
Justice Zaini Mazlan ruled that although four items were removed from the 1MDB audit report, they did not give rise to the possibility of any civil or criminal proceedings being brought against Najib.
“I agree with the defence’s submissions that there is no causal link between the amendments made and the gratification alleged.
“There is no evidence to suggest or prove that the second accused (Najib) had explicitly directed (that) the amendments (be) made to exonerate him from any civil or criminal liability.
“He was merely concerned that the report would be spun politically,” the judge said.
He highlighted that former auditor-general Ambrin Buang, the key prosecution, had agreed that he was “not forced or coerced” by Najib to make changes to the earlier report.
On the other hand, the star witness said the ultimate discretion as to whether to make the proposed amendments rested with him.
The High Court had heard that Ambrin and his National Audit Department (NAD) officers conducted their audit on 1MDB from March 9, 2015 to March 4, 2016.
The findings were supposed to be tabled on Feb 24, 2016 but the meeting with the PAC members did not take place.
The officers including Ambrin were subsequently asked to attend a meeting at the office of the then chief secretary to the government, the late Ali Hamsa, on the same day.
Also present at the meeting were Arul Kanda, Najib’s principal private secretary at the time, Shukry Mohd Salleh, senior treasury officials, and an official from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).
Four items were eventually removed from the report after the meeting, namely, references to two 2014 financial statements, the issuance of Islamic medium-term notes, the Islamic bonds’ secondary subscriber, and to Low Taek Jho’s (Jho Low) presence at 1MDB board meetings.
The trial started on Nov 18, 2019.
The prosecution concluded its case on Sep. 7, 2022 after calling 16 witnesses, including former auditor-general Madinah Mohamad, former 1MDB chairman Bakke Salleh, and former National Audit Department audit director Saadatul Nafisah Bashir Ahmad.
The High Court had also permitted Arul Kanda to testify on the prosecution’s behalf, upon the latter’s request.
Former prime minister Najib was accused of abusing his power to obtain immunity from legal action and causing amendments to the finalised 1MDB audit report prior to its tabling before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Arul Kanda, meanwhile, is accused of abetting him in the commission of the alleged offence.
The offence was reported to have been committed at the Prime Minister’s Department in Putrajaya between Feb. 22 and 26, 2016.
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