News by Timothy Achariam

The two charges under Section 403 of the Penal Code are for dishonest misappropriation of property.

Lead defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah insisted today that the court should rule on the allegation that Mohd Hazem's witness statement was hearsay. He cited a case law which ruled that issues of hearsay must be dealt with by the judge when they arise and not at the end of the case.

1MDB's former CEO Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, who has been a witness in the trial since last year, is coming to the tail end of his cross-examination today by Najib’s defence team, led by Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.

Zahid, 67, is facing 47 charges, with 12 of them involving criminal breach of trust, eight for corruption and 27 for money laundering involving tens of millions of ringgit in funds belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi.

Deloitte’s lawyer Datuk Malik Imtiaz Sarwar informed the court that both parties have decided not to commence oral submissions, and instead will rely on their written submissions, which have already been handed to the judge.

Abdul Azeez made the application through his lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik.

Shahrol had previously claimed, during his testimony in October last year, that he was removed from 1MDB as CEO after voicing concerns over the unreasonably rushed financial transactions of the company involving up to billions of ringgit.

Testifying at Ahmad Zahid’s corruption and money laundering trial, lawyer Muralidharan Balan Pillai, who is a partner at Messrs Lewis & Co, said he was told by Ahmad Zahid that the funds he was receiving via the cheques were for charity and religious purposes, and that the origin of the money was legitimate.

Testifying in Ahmad Zahid's corruption trial in which he is also being accused of money laundering, lawyer Muralidharan Balan Pillai said the account was opened at a bank's branch in Bangsar for running of Yayasan Al-Falah in 2016.

According to the ninth prosecution witness in the 1MDB-Tanore trial, former 1MDB CEO Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, Hazem's curriculum vitae (CV) was handed to him by fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (Jho Low), who claimed that his appointment was recommended by Najib's principal private secretary, the late Datuk Azlin Alias.