KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak never spent the millions of funds deposited into his private bank account for personal benefit, the High Court heard today.
Najib's lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said the former prime minister used the money he allegedly received from a Saudi monarch for public good instead.
The senior lawyer argued that this contradicts corrupt behaviour, as a person who takes money and uses it for the benefit of the public is not acting corruptly.
"We have proven that 99 per cent of the money was not used for personal purposes.
"Najib did not purchase a private jet, nor did he spend money on champagne in a bar in New York, or engage in similar activities," he said.
Shafee 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 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) case before judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
The judge later asked the lawyer if he had any legal precedents to support his argument, to which Shafee replied there were no precedents regarding this matter and that it was a factual conclusion.
Deputy public prosecutor Kamal Bahrin Omar, when responding to the same question posed by Sequerah, stated that the prosecution was only concerned with the fact that the money deposited into Najib's account came from illegal sources.
Lead prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib also told the court that it does not matter whether Najib used the money for personal or political purposes.
"The law states that the (money in question) is for his benefit," he said.
The defence team has consistently stated that the millions remitted into Najib's personal bank accounts at AmIslamic Bank were donations from the Saudi monarch.
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.