KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told the High Court here today that it would have been “totally insane” for him to seek evidence that could undermine his defence in the RM2.3 billion 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds misappropriation case.
Najib, 71, referred to letters sent by his lawyers to judges of the United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York on March 14, 2021, highlighting the relevance of a filing by former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng Chong Hwa, which purportedly contained evidence that could substantiate his defence in the ongoing trial.
Najib claimed that former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner, during his testimony in Roger Ng’s trial, disclosed evidence favourable to his defence, revealing key details on the duo’s alleged roles in the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal.
Najib sought to obtain testimony and documents relevant to his defence, requesting Leissner to provide evidence of communications involving himself, fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (Jho Low), and other individuals implicated in the 1MDB scandal.
The former Pekan MP stated this while responding to additional questions from his counsel, Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin, on the sixth day of his testimony in defense against four charges of abusing his position to secure RM2.3 billion in 1MDB funds as bribes and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
Najib argued that it would have been far more logical for him to suppress the evidence rather than disclose it if he had been involved in the scheme.
“If I were complicit in the defrauding of 1MDB, it would have been totally insane for me to ask for this evidence from the courts, because that would implicate me. I would be insane to have done it.
“I want the evidence to be presented in court because I feel totally vindicated. Insya-Allah if the evidence is tabled, I feel confident I would be exonerated,“ he said.
On April 8, 2022, Ng was found guilty by a US court for conspiring to embezzle hundreds of millions of dollars from 1MDB and was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison in New York.
On Oct 30, Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah ordered Najib to enter his defence on all 25 charges, ruling that the prosecution had successfully established a prima facie case against him at the end of its case.
The trial resumes this afternoon.
