KUALA LUMPUR (March 2): The trial of Datuk Seri Najib Razak on charges of corruption and money laundering involving 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds will resume next Tuesday (March 10).
High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah fixed the date after being informed about this by Najib's lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, with Senior Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram confirming it.
Najib has a pending SRC International Sdn Bhd trial this week.
Muhammad Shafee said he hopes to finish the SRC case this week, although there is a possibility that it may spill over to next week.
Sri Ram also informed the court that his prosecution team in the 1MDB case is also dealing with Najib's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor's bribery case next week. The former federal court judge said he would sort out with his team on dividing the cases.
Rosmah's trial is scheduled to resume on March 9.
Najib is facing 21 money laundering and four abuse of power charges involving a sum of more than RM2.28 billion of purported 1MDB funds.
Meanwhile, during Najib's SRC trial before Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, Muhammad Shafee informed the court that the defence is still trying to serve the subpoenae on Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Latheefa Koya where she is scheduled to attend tomorrow.
Besides Latheefa, Muhammad Shafee said the defence would also call on former MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Dzulkili Ahmad, Najib's former chief private secretary Tan Sri Shukry Mohd Salleh and former attorney-general Tan Sri Apandi Ali.
Ad hoc lead prosecutor Datuk V Sithambaram said former MACC investigating officer Mohd Nasharuddin Amir would come in later today to bring the necessary documents as to where the former premier was on Jan 11, 2010.
This follows two defence witnesses for Najib, namely former Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom and former Malaysian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Datuk Professor Syed Omar Al Saggaf, claiming that the former prime minister had an audience with Saudi's King Abdullah at that time.
However, the prosecution claimed that Najib was attending the launch of the 1MDB office.