KUALA LUMPUR: "Time to update my resume."
Arul Kanda, the former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) president and CEO said this when asked on his next step after he was acquitted and discharged by the High Court from abetting Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the 1MDB audit tampering case.
Arul Kanda is in a jovial mood and said he was glad that his name was now clear from any wrongdoing involving the sovereign state funds.
Speaking to the pressmen after the proceedings, he thanked everyone who stood up for him in the last few years.
"I am very happy. I would like to thank everyone including my family, friends, and my legal team.
"The trial judge made it very clear that I was not involved in this case," he said.
Earlier, Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan, who has since been elevated to the Court of Appeal, acquitted and discharged Arul Kanda and Najib after the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case against the accused.
Najib is accused of using his position as then prime minister to instruct for the final audit report on 1MDB to be amended before it was presented to the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC), while Arul Kanda, the former 1MDB chief executive officer, is charged with abetting Najib in making the amendments to the report.
The offense was allegedly committed at the Prime Minister's Department Complex, Federal Government Administrative Centre, Putrajaya between Feb 22 and 26, 2016.