NAJIB, IRWAN CHARGED WITH CBT
They allegedly misused RM6.6 b in govt funds when they held office
THE Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court yesterday heard how Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who was then-finance minister, allegedly committed criminal breach of trust along with his secretarygeneral Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah involving RM6.6 billion of government funds.
The duo were slapped with six counts of jointly committing the offences at the Finance Ministry complex in Putrajaya between Dec 21, 2016 and Dec 18, 2017.
They nodded to indicate they understood the charges before claiming trial after each offence was read to them before Judge Ahmad Azman.
Irwan, who spent the night at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in Putrajaya, was escorted to the court early in the morning, while Najib arrived on his own.
There was a slight drama right at the onset when Najib’s lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, asked for a 30-minutes stand down as he wanted to go through the charges faced by his client.
Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram, who led the prosecution team, did not object to the application.
The judge then allowed a 30minute stand-down.
After court resumed, Najib, 65, and Irwan, 61, were accused of committing CBT of RM1.2 billion and RM655 million on Dec 21, 2016.
On the third count, they were jointly charged, with CBT of RM220 million belonging to the Malaysian government in Federal Consolidated Fund under “Belanja Mengurus di bawah Maksud B11 Perkhidmatan Am Perbendaharaan, Aktiviti 021700 KL International Airport Bhd (KLIAB)” that was entrusted to them.
They were accused of committing the offence on Aug 3, 2017.
On the fourth charge, they were accused of committing CBT of RM1.3 billion of government funds on Aug 10, 2017.
The fifth and sixth charges were for committing CBT on Aug 23 and Dec 18 the same year, involving RM B1.95 billion (RM1.261 billion) and RM2 billion, respectively.
The charges, under Section 409 of the Penal Code for CBT by a public servant or agent, carries a maximum 20 years’ imprisonment, whipping and a fine.
Gopal later requested RM3 million in bail each for Najib and Irwan.
Shafee, however, pleaded for his client to be released on the previous bail of RM4.5 million, which had been paid by Najib for other charges he is facing.
Gopal refused and argued that the latest charges against Najib were serious offences.
Counsel Datuk K. Kumaraendran, who represented Irwan, pleaded for a bail of RM500,000 for his client.
The court later set RM1 million bail in two sureties for each accused, and ordered them to surrender their international and diplomatic passports to the court.
The court also ordered the duo against contacting or tampering with witnesses in the case.
The judge then allowed the accused to pay RM500,000 of the bail amount yesterday and the rest to be paid in 10 days.
The case will be up for mention on Nov 29.
Najib’s former deputy, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, was among those who turned up to lend moral support.
Zahid, who is Umno president, arrived at the court complex at 9am and said he was there to back Najib.
Zahid met Najib’s son, Norashman, before entering the courtroom.
Others who showed up include Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam.
When Zahid was charged with multiple counts of graft and CBT on Oct 19, Najib was present to show support.
Zahid, who took over the party presidency from Najib after Umno’s 14th General Election defeat, is facing 45 charges of CBT, corruption and money laundering.
He is out on RM2 million bail.