Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – After nearly 16 months, dozens of witnesses and thousands of pages of evidence, a Malaysian judge on Tuesday will issue his verdict on whether former Prime Minister Najib Razak is guilty of corruption in the first of a series of trials related to the alleged Theft of billions of dollars from the state fund 1MDB, in a decision that could have major political ramifications.
Najib faces seven charges in relation to SRC International, a unit of 1MDB, and allegations that millions of dollars ended up in his personal bank accounts and were used to shop in luxury stores, pay for home renovation projects, and provide funds to the parties. components of his then ruling coalition.
If found guilty, he could face decades in prison and substantial fines. He would also become the first Malaysian Prime Minister to be sentenced in a criminal court.
“It is a test for Muhyiddin [the current prime minister’s] government, “said Bridget Welsh, an expert in Malaysia and an honorary researcher at the Asia Research Institute at the University of Nottingham in Malaysia.” It will also send a very important signal about whether leaders will be held accountable for what they do while in office, as well as sanctions for elites who abuse the system. “
Najib could face more than 40 charges in relation to 1MDB and spend most of his days in court, but he remains an influential figure in the United National Organization of Malaysia (UMNO), which was ousted in May 2018 in the midst of Popular anger over 1MDB, but it is once again the largest coalition party after Muhyiddin Yassin, the deputy Najib fired for more than 1MDB, emerged as prime minister in March.
Judge Mohd Nazlan Ghazali, who started his legal career at the Securities Commission and the largest bank in Malaysia, is due to issue his verdict at 10 am (02:00 GMT).
‘Almost absolute power’
When the trial began on April 3 last year, then-Attorney General Tommy Thomas told the court that Najib, who was sitting on the wooden bench on the dock leaning on a thick cushion provided by an assistant, had exercised a ” almost absolute power. ” Prime Minister; a time when he was also finance minister.
Thomas noted that “maximum confidence” had been placed in Najib by the people of Malaysia.
The prosecution called dozens of witnesses to support his case, including anti-corruption investigators, a former deputy minister of Finance Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah and top bankers at AmBank where Najib kept his personal accounts.
Meanwhile, the defense sought to demonstrate that Najib was unaware of the source of the funds and was duped by Penang-born financier Jho Low, a man known for spending thousands of dollars on champagne bottles and partying with celebrities and socialites. . He is now a fugitive and has denied wrongdoing.
Investigators in the United States have said that $ 4.5 billion was diverted from 1MDB, where Najib chaired the advisory board, through a complex network of shell companies before it was used to buy the ornaments from the super-rich. , including luxury houses, an ocean. yacht and art by Picasso.
Najib himself took the position of witness in December, reading a prepared statement of nearly 250 pages.
His defense team is convinced that they have done enough.
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak arrives at the Kuala Lumpur High Court last August when the prosecution concluded his case. Najib has denied wrongdoing [Vincent Thian/AP Photo]
“We have a lot of confidence in the defense and the result as well,” Muhammad Farhan Shafee, one of the lawyers for the Najib team, told Al Jazeera. “Enough doubts have been raised during the process, and that is the burden of proof we have to face.”
Optimism
Najib, who turned 67 last week, has watered confidence at all times and the change in government has revitalized his political profile.
Earlier this month, he joined the campaign for a seat in the state assembly in his east coast constituency, and last week he obtained special permission from the court, initially denied, to assist Parliament to deliver a speech.
On social media, the former prime minister continues to spend less food on the family, his cat Kiky makes regular appearances, with his views on political events. Last week, he posted a video of himself surrounded by dozens of employees singing happy birthday to the man they called “bossku,” a reference to the online person he created in the pretrial period.
On Tuesday night, in a Facebook post before the verdict, he thanked people for their support, took photos of the government that overthrew him, and said he would appeal if found guilty,
“I want justice,” he wrote. “I want to clear my name.”
Some 1MDB-related cases have been resolved without jail time.
Last week, Malaysia struck a $ 3.9 billion settlement with US investment bank Goldman Sachs to drop criminal charges for its role in the scandal, and in June dropped the money laundering charges against Najib’s stepson, Riza Aziz, who had been accused of using diverted money from 1MDB to finance the hit movie The Wolf of Wall Street.
The film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese, was banned in Malaysia.
Riza’s production house had already paid a fine to the Department of Justice in the United States, while the agreement with Malaysia reached just over $ 107 million.
Away from 1MDB, other politicians forced to respond to corruption allegations after the 2018 elections have also had their cases withdrawn or resolved, including former Sabah state prime minister in Borneo.
“Since the change in government, there have been a number of rulings in favor of the defendants,” said Ross Tapsell, a tenured professor at the Asia-Pacific College of the National University of Australia. “The trend seems to be toward smoother decisions.”
SRC’s decision is being broadcast five years after the day Najib fired Muhyiddin and four other ministers when revelations about 1MDB skyrocketed. Muhyiddin was fired as deputy prime minister and interior minister, while then-attorney general Abdul Gani Patail, as well as the head of the special branch, were also removed from office.
Najib Razak’s stepson Riza Aziz, left, pictured with Wall Street Wolf stars, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Jonah Hill and producer Joey McFarland tThe film’s London premiere in 2014 recently agreed a $ 107 million settlement with the Malaysian government on money laundering charges. [File: Paul Hackett/Reuters]
Muhyiddin later joined forces with the opposition, which had joined in an attempt to eliminate Najib. In 2018 polls, he campaigned alongside veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad and the Pakatan Harapan coalition, to call for a full investigation into 1MDB and the end of corruption.
“It would look very bad for the Muhyiddin government if Najib were fired, especially when Muhyiddin himself was fired and campaigned on these corruption cases,” said Tapsell.
Divisions
Muhyiddin became prime minister in March, aligning himself with UMNO and the Islamic PAS party to form a conservative Malaysian nationalist administration, after the king was convinced he had a majority in Parliament.
Still, although he was praised for his effective control of the coronavirus pandemic in Malaysia, most of his coalition is very thin.
Parliament did not sit until the beginning of this month, save for a single ceremonial day for the official opening, and only two votes were obtained to vote for the president who had assumed office under the previous administration. Rumors of a quick election are abundant.
“For Muhyiddin, a conviction would take away his most discouraging rival, and save him from having to cooperate with a coalition partner he has previously wrecked,” said Meredith Weiss, a professor of political science at the University of Albany. “At least as importantly, a conviction (especially one worded clearly enough to increase the likelihood of a delay in the appeal) would certify that your government is opposed to corruption.”
Muhyiddin Yassin emerged as prime minister in March after a seizure of power in the ruling coalition at the time led to the resignation of predecessor Mahathir Mohamad. Your coalition has a slim majority in Parliament [Lim Huey Teng/Reuters]
UMNO also has its problems, which could undermine the position of the ruling coalition.
Several high-ranking politicians, including leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, are being tried for corruption. If any of them is found guilty and the decision is upheld on appeal, they will lose their seats in Parliament.
The Najib himself was also ordered last week by a Kuala Lumpur court to pay the staggering 1.69 billion ringgit ($ 397.4 million) in unpaid taxes for the period from 2011 to 2017.
When Najib was first indicted by SRC, Thomas noted that the case was one of the most direct with 1MDB; a case that spans at least six countries and involves a complex trail of money through numerous shell companies and remote tax havens.
There was “overwhelming evidence” against Najib, he said.
Many Malaysians, emboldened by the outcome of the May elections, the first time UMNO was defeated since independence, were eager for a conviction, but there were also staunch supporters who refused to believe that the scion of one of the most in-political families The country’s influencers could be guilty of such a crime.
Najib supporters plan to meet outside of court on Tuesday.
“For many Malays, it would be good if Najib Razak was convicted,” said Oh Ei Sun, a political analyst who once worked in the Najib office. “People are concerned about the economy and broader government policies. A conviction would be an antidote to what progressives see as the country’s regression.”
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