KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah have been freed of RM6.6 billion criminal breach of trust charges related to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) financial scandal.
High Court judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin granted the discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) against the former prime minister and the former company chairman today.
Muhammad Jamil made the ruling after the prosecution failed to hand over hundreds of documents related to the trial to the defence team, despite the charges being filed against them since 2018.
The documents involved include records from Cabinet meetings, as well as from the Finance Ministry, the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry, and the Transport Ministry.
"After listening to submissions from all parties I use the inherent power to grant a DNAA on all six charges.
"These are my brief grounds. First, the prosecution did not adhere to Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
"Second, the DNAA does not prejudice the prosecution as they can recharge the accused.
"Third, this case was registered in 2018 but the trial cannot proceed even when trial dates have been set many times. This is an inordinate delay," said the judge.
Section 51A of the CPC requires the prosecution to provide the accused with certain documents before the commencement of a trial.
DNAA is when a court releases a person from charges without fully clearing them, meaning they can still be prosecuted for the same offense later.
Najib was represented by Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah while lawyer Datuk K. Kumaraendran appeared for Irwan.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi prosecuted.
Najib and Irwan had previously filed several representations for the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) to review their charges.
On Monday, Shafee applied for a permanent stay of the proceedings, citing similar arguments, but the court rejected the request as no formal application had been made by Najib.
Shafee also criticised the AGC for its lack of preparedness in the case and questioned why the prosecution chose to charge his client and proceed to trial without ensuring that all necessary documents were ready and available for the defense.
Saifuddin, in his reply, said the prosecution had no authority over classified documents governed by the Official Secrets Act.
He said the process of declassifying documents labelled as secret or confidential was beyond their control.
Najib and Irwan were charged in October 2018 and had pleaded not guilty to six counts of CBT involving government funds used as payments to the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).
They allegedly committed the offences at the Finance Ministry complex in Putrajaya between Dec 21, 2016 and Dec 18, 2017.
The charges, under Section 409 of the Penal Code for CBT by a public servant or agent, carry a maximum of 20 years' imprisonment, caning and a fine upon conviction.