THE judge in Najib Razak’s criminal breach of trust and money-laundering trial had erred in deciding that the former prime minister was a “shadow director” of SRC International Sdn Bhd, his defence team told the appellate court today.

Counsel Harvinderjit Singh said high court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali had found Najib guilty of the charges based on the evidence that Najib in the capacity of prime minister, finance minister and adviser emeritus of 1MDB had over-arching control over the affairs of SRC International and its board of directors.

“The trial court found that the misappropriation was caused by Najib as an ‘agent’ (shadow director or any other capacity) through his control of SRC International, and in particular through Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil and Suboh Mohd Yassin who caused the RM42 million to be disbursed out of SRC,” Harvinderjit submitted.

Suboh was former SRC International director and Nik Faisal was the chief executive officer. Both were part of the board and have authorities in signing cheques. 

Harvinderjit said the trial judge had misdirected himself for considering Najib as a “shadow director” based on the purported testimony of SRC International’s chairman of board of directors Ismee Ismail and Suboh.

Both these witnesses had said that the board was compelled to act according to Najib’s directions during the trial.

“However the evidence falls short of establishing that Najib was a ‘shadow director’ of SRC International,” Harvinderjit said.

Najib is appealing at the Court of Appeal after being convicted by Nazlan on July 28 last year of CBT, money-laundering and power abuse involving RM42 million of money belonging to 1MDB subsidiary SRC International. 

He was sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined RM210 million. He is currently out on bail for RM2 million in two sureties.

The appeal is heard before a three-man bench chaired by Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, along with judges Has Zanah Mehat and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera. 

On another point, Harvinderjit told the appellate court that the transfer of funds into Najib’s personal accounts alone was not proof of misappropriation.

He said there must be evidence of misappropriation committed by Najib. 

He added that having a mere control over the funds was insufficient, and misappropriation must be proven. 

“It is undisputed that RM42 million in the CBT charges originated from the SRC International account and was eventually transferred into Najib’s 880 and 906 accounts. 

“But to prove the CBT charges, the prosecution must prove that Najib in the capacities alleged was involved in the acts, which led to the disbursement of funds from the SRC International account,” he added. 

The appeal hearing continues on Monday. – April 8, 2021.