Najib wants judge recused from 1MDB case
Published on: Monday, August 14, 2023
By:
FMT, Ho Kit Yen
Counsel Shafee Abdullah (left) says if the application is granted, Najib Razak’s (right) 1MDB case can start all over again, or continue before another judge.
Kuala Lumpur: The High Court will hear an application by former prime minister Najib Razak to recuse trial judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah from hearing his ongoing 1MDB case on Thursday.
The defence had earlier today filed an application to recuse Sequerah, following a disclosure by him last month that he and former 1MDB general counsel Loo Ai Swan had been partners in a law firm.
ADVERTISEMENT
Loo, also known as Jasmine Loo, is believed to be a former associate of fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, the alleged mastermind behind the 1MDB scandal.
Najib is standing trial on 25 counts of money laundering and abuse of power over the alleged misuse of 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.
His lawyer, Shafee Abdullah, told the court the application was filed this morning, and extended a copy of it to the prosecution.
In the event the recusal application is granted, he said, the defence will seek a court order for the 1MDB case to start afresh, or continue, before another judge.
ADVERTISEMENT
Forty-six witnesses have testified in the trial, which started on Aug 28, 2019, so far.
However, deputy public prosecutor Kamal Bahrin Omar told the court the prosecution will be objecting to the defence’s recusal bid.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We need one day to prepare an affidavit to respond,” he said.
Sequerah also said the trial will continue today until Wednesday, with former Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz continuing with her testimony.
He reminded the public not to comment on the case and the recusal application, pending the court’s determination.
Last month, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail confirmed that Loo had been arrested by the police.
He said she had been remanded for 1MDB-related investigations and her lawyers had given an assurance that she was “ready to offer her cooperation to the police and the government”.
Saifuddin said Loo was being investigated under Section 409 of the Penal Code for criminal breach of trust.
Loo went missing shortly before the 14th general election on May 9, 2018 along with several other key individuals linked to the 1MDB scandal – former SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, former 1MDB executive director Tang Keng Chee, and Geh Choh Heng.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
