KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak cannot afford the RM50 million fine imposed as a condition for him to serve the remainder of his SRC International prison sentence under house arrest, his lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said today.
Shafee said Najib did not have the financial means to settle the fine and that his bank accounts had been frozen, including an Affin Bank account he had previously used to receive his salary as prime minister and Member of Parliament, Berita Harian reported today.
“As of today, Datuk Seri Najib himself cannot afford to pay it. He cannot afford to pay it,” Shafee told reporters after court proceedings involving Najib.
He also said Najib had never sought public donations to help settle the RM50 million fine.
Shafee said Najib was in a difficult position as he was required to pay the fine as one of the conditions of his pardon but did not have the means to do so.
“He is in a dilemma because he is supposed to pay it, but he does not have the money,” he said, adding that he did not know how much had been raised in contributions.
Separately, Shafee said Najib had yet to receive the official letter on the conditional pardon granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which allows him to serve the remainder of his SRC International sentence under house arrest.
He said the legal team had also not received the document setting out the conditions of the pardon.
“The Yang di-Pertuan Agong has made the decision under his prerogative, but the most important person is Datuk Seri Najib because he is the one who was sentenced to prison and house arrest, yet until today he has not received the letter.
“We do not know why the letter is taking so long. Even the Prisons Department has not received it,” he said, noting that today marked the eighth day since Najib was granted the conditional pardon.
Shafee said the delay was affecting the legal team’s next steps because they did not know the full conditions contained in the official document.
“Eight days. It is strange. This delay is affecting the legal team’s next course of action because we do not know the full conditions contained in the official document,” he said.
