KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here yesterday was told that former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was not allowed to obtain documents pertaining to his Ambank account statements.
Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said the defence had asked the documents from Ambank for the purpose of preparing his client’s defence, whereby the bank officer had informed that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) through a letter had stated that any party who requested for the documents had to liaise with the MACC first.
“Under what provision I can’t have it because this is my client’s account. He remained as an account holder even though he wanted to close it today, and he could still ask for whatever account that transpired.
“His dealings with his defence surely cannot be confidential to him because this is his account,” said Muhammad Shafee.
He said the defence had applied to the bank to have Najib’s bank documents to which the bank said it had referred the matter to the MACC.
“The MACC had not bothered to get back to us. (There is) no power for the MACC to stop a client of the bank from finding out his account statements. This is an abuse of process.
Therefore, we ask the court to make a ruling that the MACC through the public prosecutor ought to withdraw the instruction for my client in getting the information about his own account,” he said.
Ad-hoc prosecutor Datuk V.Sithambaram replied that the prosecution will check the matter and get back to the court next Monday.
Earlier the court had heard submissions from Muhammad Shafee and Harvinderjit Singh who also acted for Najib for the defence to question a witness from Ambank over banking transactions from 2013 that were credited to Najib’s bank account.
Sithambaram objected to the defence’s request saying that the application was irrelevant as it was not the subject matter of charges preferred against Najib.
Justice Mohd Nazlan however allowed the witness to confirm only on transactions details of the bank account of the accused.
Najib, 66, faces three counts of criminal breach of trust, one charge of power abuse and three counts of money laundering involving SRC International Sdn Bhd funds totalling RM42 million.
The trial before High Court Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali continues on July 15. – Bernama
