SRC International Sdn Bhd’s business plan in 2011 was just a sham, despite its apparent remit to ensure supply of energy resources, lead prosecutor V. Sithambaram told the Court of Appeal.

He said the company was established by former prime minister Najib Razak to misappropriate company funds for his personal benefit and advantage.

“The only commencement of business (that SRC took) is transferring money to Switzerland,” Sithambaram told the court today.

“Why did the government farm out all of this (money)?” the lawyer asked.

“The appellant was cross-examined (during trial) and said nothing was done. If you have actually invested in SRC, you would have documents to show for rebut, but he has nothing to show for it, nothing.”

Defence counsel Harvinderjit Singh stood up to object but Sithambaram sternly asked for him to sit back down, because the defence has been “talking nonsense”.

The Court of Appeal is hearing Najib’s appeal against his conviction and prison sentence for misappropriation of RM42 million of SRC International funds.

Najib had admitted during the original trial at Kuala Lumpur High Court that the company did not meet its objective to supply Malaysia with energy resources.

“The appellant holds some position in SRC and he places it (the blame) on the board. This whole thing is a sham, nothing happened, money went in and went out,” Sithambaram said.

Court of Appeal judge Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil – leading the bench including judges Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera and Has Zanah Mehat – then confirmed if the lead prosecutor was conveying that the business was a “camouflage”.

Sithambaram reiterated that it represents the prosecution’s case against Najib, on the charge under Section 23 Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act.

“We must recall that SRC was only a new company with a paid-up share capital of RM1 million, had no track record, had no clear profit on any actual business and had no security to act as guarantee for the RM4 billion sum being loaned (by KWAP),” Sithambaram said.

“The only security KWAP had was the government guarantees issued and clearly there is no guarantor that is more secure than the government of Malaysia,” he said, adding that the evidence had clearly shown that Najib was responsible for the issuance of the government guarantees.

On July 28 last year, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali sentenced the former prime minister to 12 years in prison and fined him RM210 million after finding him guilty on seven charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT), money-laundering and abuse of power.

Najib, 67, is currently on bail of RM2 million in two sureties pending appeal.

The case continues. – April 15, 2021.