KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak's defence team had a field day arguing that most of the key witnesses in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) corruption trial were unreliable.
Najib's lawyer, Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin, claimed that this was because Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer Nur Aida Arifin had conducted a selective investigation targeting certain witnesses to shift the blame onto the former prime minister.
He said the witnesses included his client, former special officer Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazarudin, former 1MDB chief executive Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, former 1MDB general counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan, and former 1MDB chief financial officer Azmi Tahir.
He said the witnesses had only testified to 'save their skin' from being implicated with the alleged mastermind of the global-scale financial scandal, Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, who is still at large.
Wan Azwan said this when presenting his argument on why the court should acquit the former prime minister on abuse of power charges in relation to the 1MDB case before judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
"It was the defence who exposed Low being so generous to Amhari by giving him US$200,000, a fact which Nur Aida turned a blind eye to.
"She did not pursue a thorough investigation into Amhari's actions or motives.
"Instead, she accepted his testimony, which conveniently shifted the blame onto Najib, without questioning the potential self-serving nature of his statements.
"Shahrol Azral's testimony was filed with hearsay and assumptions. He frequently mentioned receiving instructions indirectly attributed to Najib through Low.
"However, Nur Aida failed to probe deeper into Shahrol's decision-making process and whether he acted autonomously or under explicit orders."
He said Nur Aida's investigation clearly did not explore alternative scenarios where Shahrol might have been independently culpable.
Wan Azwan said Hazem's testimony was filled with contradictions and lacked direct evidence.
He said despite Hazem's claims that Low had significant influence and that directives were given with Najib's approval, Nur Aida made no effort to independently verify the truth of these statements.
"Hazem's statements often relied on hearsay, and his actions were not thoroughly scrutinised to determine if he acted on his own or under someone else's influence.
"Nur Aida also failed to question Azmi's autonomy in making significant financial decisions or his potential motivations for deflecting blame," she said.
The lawyer said Nur Aida also failed to examine the possibility that Loo, who was dubbed as Low's right hand person, could have orchestrated or facilitated actions without Najib's direct involvement.
"Loo's offshore accounts and financial transactions were not investigated with the same rigour as the claims against Najib."
Meanwhile, Najib's lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) was aware on the controversial US$700 million transaction to Good Star, a shell company linked to Low.
"The transaction was sanctioned by the central bank and it is backed up by documentation.
"Deutsche Bank had consulted the BNM over the transaction its officer approved the transaction."
He said Najib had every reason to rely on Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and its governor, as it is the bastion of financial integrity.
Najib, 71, is facing four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
For the 21 charges of money laundering, the former Pekan member of parliament is accused of committing the offences between March 22, 2013, and Aug 30, 2013.
The trial continues tomorrow.