Court to hear Najib's bid to obtain 1MDB-linked documents on May 31

 

The Kuala Lumpur High Court will hear former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's legal bid to obtain 1MDB-linked documents involving United States investment bank Goldman Sachs and former Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz's family on May 31.

Today, the court fixed the date to hear the former prime minister's two discovery applications that seek to bolster his defence in his ongoing RM2.28 billion 1MDB criminal trial in Malaysia.

On March 24, Najib's legal team filed the initial discovery bid for banking documents involving Zeti's family's bank accounts, which related to allegations that the family received monies from 1MDB-linked fugitive Low Taek Jho. She denied the allegations.

In early April, Najib's legal team filed a second discovery application. This time to seek a confidential agreement signed between the government of Malaysia and Goldman, where they agreed for a settlement in Malaysia's case against him in exchange for its assistance to bring back assets related to 1MDB bonds, worth US$1.4 billion.

The second bid also seeks court documents from a criminal trial in the US against Low (also known as Jho Low) and former Goldman banker Roger Ng; and the transcripts or forensic report from the phones of Tim Leissner, who is a former Goldman partner in Asia.

During open-court proceedings this morning, High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah set May 31 as the hearing date.

The hearing date was set following deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Mustaffa P Kunyalam informing the court that the prosecution needs time to reply to both discovery applications.

The DPP said as they were only served with copies of the second discovery application on April 12, they would need around two weeks to mount replies to both discovery bids.

Najib's lead defence counsel, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, informed the court that they have no objection to the prosecution's requirement for time to respond to the two legal bids.

Sequerah then fixed May 31 to hear both discovery applications and directed parties to file written submissions and replies by May 21.

Previously, the court had set May 20 to hear Najib's first discovery application involving the banking documents of Zeti's family.

However, during proceedings today, the court allowed the prosecution's application for the first discovery bid to be heard together with the second one on May 31. Shafee did not object to the joint hearing bid.

Najib, who is also Pekan MP, was present during today's case management before the court.

He is on trial for four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion of 1MDB's funds.

The accused was also previously a finance minister and chairperson of 1MDB's board of advisors.

1MDB is fully owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc). - Mkini

✍ Credit given to the original owner of this post : ☕ Malaysians Must Know the TRUTH

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