PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Razak today contended that the movement of RM42 million of SRC International money which ended up in his bank accounts was actually part of a grander scheme perpetrated by others.
The culprits, he argued, were all now on the run as wanted fugitives, or were otherwise untraceable by the authorities.
The former prime minister's lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said this in his closing submissions at the Court of Appeal where Najib is seeking to overturn his 12-year jail sentence and RM210 million fine.
The 69-year old Pekan Member of Parliament was sentenced in July last year after being convicted of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering involving the SRC funds.
However, Shafee said the trial judge was wrong to have convicted his client who, he argued, should have been released even without being ordered to enter his defence on any of the charges.
"Looking at the totality of the evidence, it appears that the movement of the RM42 million was part of a much grander scheme.
"It was perpetrated by individuals who are all now on the run as wanted fugitives or are otherwise untraceable," he said.
The senior counsel also contended that the charges against Najib were not only wrong but also illegal.
This, he argued, was because Najib had no interests in SRC and his client's relationship with the former 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-linked company was purely one held in a professional capacity as Minister Of Finance Inc (MOF Inc).
"The powers he held over SRC as Prime Minister were merely administrative in nature and in any case do not fall outside of the norm.
"There is no evidence to show that Najib's advice as Advisor Emeritus to SRC was ever sought and consequently, no such advice was ever given," he said.
Shafee said the foundation of "control" as being the starting point of Najib's interest in SRC had therefore been displaced as such control simply emanated from the latter's professional relationship with SRC.
Touching on the charges of the movement of money into Najib's accounts, Shafee said the former Umno president was accused of committing the corrupt act on Aug 17, 2011, and Feb 8, 2012, whereas the gratification was only realised on Dec 26, 2014.
He argued the fact that there was such a huge gap of time showed that there was no real connection between the two.
"The prosecution and the trial judge were 100 per cent wrong to conclude Najib used his position for any gratification," he said, adding whatever decisions made by the then Cabinet on matters concerning SRC were done collectively.
"It was not a decision by an individual...whether he was wearing the hat of a prime minister, finance minister or representative of the MOF Inc," he said.
Najib was convicted of abusing his power as the prime minister by giving government guarantees for SRC's RM4 billion loan from the Pensioners Retirement Fund (KWAP).
He was also found guilty of three counts of CBT and three counts of money laundering involving RM42 million of the company's funds.
The hearing before Court of Appeal Judges Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, Datuk Has Zanah Mehat and Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera continues.