Former Malaysia PM Najib Razak arrived at a Kuala Lumpur court on April 15 (Photo: AFP/VNA) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trial involving former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will start on August 19 as scheduled.
High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah fixed the date after rejecting Malaysian Attorney-General (AG) Tommy Thomas' request for the case to be postponed until Najib's trial involving abuse of SRC International funds, a former branch of the 1MDB, is completed.
Sequerah rejected the application after noting that this was the third time the prosecution was seeking a postponement.
On May 14, Sequerah agreed to a second postponement of the 1MDB trial to August 19, to make way for the ongoing SRC International trial.
The AG on June 21 had also applied for a postponement of the 1MDB trial stating that Najib’s SRC International trial was moving slower than expected, saying that the 1MDB’s trial could start in October.
Thomas said he had called 40 witnesses in the trial (SRC International) and is expected to call 25 more.
With the AG’s request rejected, the 1MDB trial is scheduled to take place from August 19 to 29, and will run the whole of September and October except Fridays and the first two weeks of November.
Former Malaysian PM Najib is facing 25 charges relating to graft and money laundering of 2.28 billion ringgit that had allegedly come from 1MDB.
He founded the 1MDB investment fund in 2009, supposedly to serve Malaysia’s development through global partnerships and foreign direct investment.
However, it became the centre of a money laundering scandal, allegedly causing losses of up to 4.5 billion USD and leading to probes in Malaysia and several other countries such as the US, Switzerland, Singapore, and China. -VNA
High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah fixed the date after rejecting Malaysian Attorney-General (AG) Tommy Thomas' request for the case to be postponed until Najib's trial involving abuse of SRC International funds, a former branch of the 1MDB, is completed.
Sequerah rejected the application after noting that this was the third time the prosecution was seeking a postponement.
On May 14, Sequerah agreed to a second postponement of the 1MDB trial to August 19, to make way for the ongoing SRC International trial.
The AG on June 21 had also applied for a postponement of the 1MDB trial stating that Najib’s SRC International trial was moving slower than expected, saying that the 1MDB’s trial could start in October.
Thomas said he had called 40 witnesses in the trial (SRC International) and is expected to call 25 more.
With the AG’s request rejected, the 1MDB trial is scheduled to take place from August 19 to 29, and will run the whole of September and October except Fridays and the first two weeks of November.
Former Malaysian PM Najib is facing 25 charges relating to graft and money laundering of 2.28 billion ringgit that had allegedly come from 1MDB.
He founded the 1MDB investment fund in 2009, supposedly to serve Malaysia’s development through global partnerships and foreign direct investment.
However, it became the centre of a money laundering scandal, allegedly causing losses of up to 4.5 billion USD and leading to probes in Malaysia and several other countries such as the US, Switzerland, Singapore, and China. -VNA
VNA
