Zeti’s family’s links to 1MDB come to the fore in SRC appeal

KUALA LUMPUR: Evidence relating to the links of former Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz’s family to 1MDB has taken centre stage on the first day of Najib Razak’s appeal against his conviction and sentence in the SRC International corruption case.

At the Court of Appeal, Najib’s lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said the evidence and other documents held by authorities in Singapore and the US were key to his client’s defence.

Shafee cited this reason in applying for a postponement of the appeal until Najib can obtain the additional documents related to 1MDB , once a parent company of SRC International.

V Sithambaram, who is leading the prosecution, disagreed, saying this was an attempt to scuttle the appeal. He said the court should only take cognisance of the documents that were in court today to hear the appeal.Powered by Streamlyn

The three-member bench chaired by Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil refused to postpone the hearing of the appeal.

Previously, Shafee had gone to the High Court here to compel the local enforcement agencies to supply him additional documents to prepare his defence in the ongoing 1MDB corruption and money laundering charges.

They include documents belonging to companies controlled by Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, and Zeti’s family.

It was reported that Zeti’s husband and two sons had received money from 1MDB funds.

They admitted to knowing about the money in statutory declarations signed in last March.

High Court Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah fixed May 20 to hear Najib’s application.

On July 28, 2020, the High Court sentenced Najib to 12 years’ jail and ordered him to pay a RM210 million fine after finding him guilty on seven counts of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering in relation to RM42 million belonging to SRC International. — Free Malaysia Today