Najib Ends Last Trial of 2019 By Pleading Ignorance: 1MDB Update
Najib Says He’s Right to Buy $131,000 Gift for Wife: 1MDB Update
(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia’s former leader Najib Razak ended his last trial day for the year by saying he wasn’t aware of the balance in his personal accounts and didn’t know whether signatures on documents shown to him were his.
Najib said he never checked the balance in his accounts, adding he issued checks by “sensing” that there would be enough funds to clear them. He also cast doubt over documents bearing his signatures, including one that gave him overreaching control over a former unit of 1MDB. His lawyer said they plan to summon a handwriting expert from Australia to verify the signatures.
The former prime minister has been on the stand for most of the December, spending three days to read out his sworn testimony. He was ordered to defend against accusations of receiving 42 million ringgit ($10 million) of bribes in relation to his role in the former unit of 1MDB, after the judge ruled that prosecutors had built a successful case. In his testimony, he detailed decisions delegated to others and denied knowledge of transactions surrounding the case. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Key Developments
- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission named Najib in a statement banning ex-Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker Tim Leissner on Dec. 17. The agency said Najib received kickbacks along with other government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi
- Najib’s trial on the former unit of 1MDB will resume Jan. 6 next year
- Najib faces a total of 42 charges and has two other trials ongoing, including a major one involving 1MDB’s billion-dollar transactions. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s lawyer is holding a watching brief for that hearing
Further Reading
To contact the reporter on this story: Hadi Azmi in Kuala Lumpur at klnews@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Yudith Ho at yho35@bloomberg.net, Anisah Shukry
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