KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 — Purported drafts of charge sheets against Datuk Seri Najib Razak published by Sarawak Report are false and corroborate Putrajaya’s claim of a conspiracy to topple the prime minister, Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali said today.
According to the newly-appointed Attorney-General, it would not have been possible for the documents to be prepared as the special taskforce investigating 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has yet to conclude its probe.
“The alleged charge sheets are not in and never reached the Attorney-General's Chambers. Furthermore, the format of the sheets is not correct or written by our Chambers,” Apandi said in a statement today.
“These alleged charge papers therefore indicate that there is a conspiracy to topple a serving prime minister by criminalising him, and that the methods include doctoring and criminal leakage.”
Calling the purported plot a threat against Malaysia’s democracy, Apandi said will direct investigations into the matter and seek to bring the full extent of available laws to bear on those responsible.
Today’s statement expands on brief remarks made yesterday by Apandi and the head of prosecution at the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Datuk Tun Abdul Majid Hamzah.
Apandi yesterday declined comment when contacted to verify the authenticity of the charge sheets while Tun Majid turned to Twitter to state that the papers did not originate from the AGC, which has sole purview over prosecutions.
Pictures of the document were published yesterday by whistleblower site Sarawak Report, which claimed to have obtained a copy of corruption charges that were in the final stages of being drafted by Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail against Najib and one other person connected to the 1MDB controversy.
Sarawak Report has previously been accused of tampering with stolen documents related to 1MDB that it obtained from a former PetroSaudi International executive currently awaiting trial in Thailand as well as fabricating others.
Abdul Gani was abruptly removed as AG in an announcement by the Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Ali Hamsa Tuesday, ostensibly due to health concerns.
However, the Sabah-born who served as AG nearly 13 years since January 2002 told Malay Mail Online that he had not been aware of his removal until the announcement.
Up to then, Abdul Gani was part of a multi-agency government taskforce investigating claims of misappropriated funds involving Najib and 1MDB.
In an expose earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal claimed that US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) from 1MDB was funnelled into Najib’s personal accounts.
