KUALA LUMPUR: Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was described as "wilfully blind" for failing to inquire about the origins of the funds deposited into his account.
Presiding Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah made this statement in light of the enormous sums deposited, namely US$681 million, as well as the return of USD 620,000 to Najib's account.
Najib allegedly used the US$681 million linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) to influence votes during the General Election in 2013.
Sequerah said it was incumbent upon the ex-Pekan member of parliament to take reasonable steps to ascertain whether or not the property were proceeds from unlawful activity.
"The above instances of conduct as well as the respective acts of receiving, using and transferring the proceeds by the accused were also relevant under Section 8 of the Evidence Act 1950 and therefore admissible to reasonably and justifiably infer knowledge on the part of the accused with respect to all the 21 charges of money laundering under Section 4(1) (a) of Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001. (AmlaTFA)
"Under all the circumstances, I find that the accused was also 'wilfully blind' with regard to his failure to inquire into the origin of these funds when the circumstances were such that he ought to have done so.
"Under the circumstances and based upon the evidence, I find that the prosecution had also proven the 'mens rea' (criminal intent) in respect of all the Amla charges," he said.
He said this in his judgment which ordered Najib to enter defence on all anti-money laundering charges as well as four of abuse of power linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
Sequerah said despite the fact that by 2015, the publicity about the financial scandal involving 1MDB surfaced, Najib's former special officer Datuk Amhari Effendi Nazaruddin said he received no instructions from his boss to lodge any reports with the authorities and banks.
Najib, said Sequerah, had also not seen fit to lodge any police report in respect of the alleged involvement of others.
He said Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission investigating officer Nur Aida Ariffin also referred to nine audio recordings she obtained in the course of her investigations which showed that there were attempts to cover up the 1MDB issues by Najib with the help of a number of individuals.
He said former 1MDB chairman Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh testified that two weeks before the Public Accounts Committee announcement about the affairs of 1MDB in 2016, the committee's then chairman Datuk Seri Hasan Arifin met him twice to brief him on what to say at the hearing, with the objective to safeguard the name of the accused and fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho.
Earlier today, Sequerah ordered Najib to enter his defence on all charges after ruling that the prosecution had established a prima facie case.
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.
He will have to answer all criminal charges on Dec 2.
He was charged in the Sessions Court on Sept 20, 2018, and the case was allowed to be transferred to the High Court on Oct 31, 2018.