1MDB audit trial: Prosecution seeks to amend charges against Najib, Arul Kanda over ‘typo error’; defence argues changes are significant

KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 — The prosecution in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s joint trial with Arul Kanda Kandasamy for allegedly tampering with a federal audit report on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) is seeking to amend charges that are said to involve a “typo error”, the High Court heard today.

This, however, argued Najib’s lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, would change the position of the prosecution’s case.  

“Yang Arif, thus far the crux of the cross-examination is that there has been nothing wrong with a request to amend the audit report that has yet to be finalised.

“In fact, we went to the extent that the exit conference is not a magical word, it is a meeting between auditor and auditee to arrive at a consensus, it does not mean it is limited to one hour or one day,’’ he said.

In the trial, Najib’s defence had posited that the report prepared by the auditor-general (A-G) and the National Audit Department was merely a draft and yet to be finalised prior to the February 24, 2016 meeting at the then chief secretary to the government Tan Sri Ali Hamsa’s office along with other stakeholders.

In 2018, Najib was charged in the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur for allegedly abusing his position to alter or cause to be removed portions of the 2016’s 1MDB audit report that is being prepared by the A-G, before it was to be presented to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

Arul Kanda, in his capacity as 1MDB chief executive, had allegedly abetted Najib, according to the charge.

Prior to the start of the trial at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, the prosecution amended the charge, stating that Najib had abused his position to alter or change the audit report that had been finalised by the A-G before it was to be presented to the PAC.

The new amendments that the prosecution seeks only involve corrections to wording errors to the charges that do not affect the prosecutions' position in any manner, explained ad-hoc deputy public prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram.

Sri Ram stated that the prosecution has been clear in its position on the offence, which falls under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act for abuse of power.  

“The important thing is for our learned friend (Shafee) to focus on what the offence is rather than the wording of the original (charge).  

“According to him (Shafee), it is a draft. We now have made it clear, absolutely clear, it is not a draft, based on the evidence of, Tan Sri Ambrin Salwani, Saadatul So we are not springing anything new to the defence,’’ adding further that there is no substantial change to the charge.

Sri Ram was referring to former auditor-general Tan Sri Ambrin Buang, National Audit Department (NAD) Director Nor Salwani Muhammad and Saadatul Nafisah Bashir Ahmad who led NAD’s special 1MDB audit team, who had already testified in court before.

All three senior members of the NAD had expressed difficulties in auditing the debt-laden firm.  

Previously, Ambrin had testified that he had, on February 20, 2016, instructed Nor Salwani Muhammad, who was also the 1MDB audit team’s coordinator, to print copies of the final 1MDB audit report, with all 60 copies fully printed on February 21, 2016.

Out of the 60 copies, six copies were distributed on February 22, 2016, namely to Najib himself, Shukry, Ambrin, then chief secretary to the government Ali, then Attorney General’s Chambers officer Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad and Arul Kanda.

Ambrin had also confirmed that this report was the one that NAD wanted to present to Parliament’s PAC in a presentation that was already scheduled on February 24, 2016.