Judge to deliver decision on Najib's bid to obtain documents related to Goldman Sachs, Jho Low, Zeti's family on July 12

KUALA LUMPUR (May 31): The High Court has today fixed July 12 to deliver its decision on whether it will issue a court order to compel the prosecution to supply documents to former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak's defence team, as part of his discovery application on Goldman Sachs-related matters and items in his 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-Tanore trial.

On the same day, the court will also deliver its decision for another similar application by the defence for discovery on matters related to former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz's husband and son, who were alleged to have received 1MDB funds from fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho.

The date was fixed by Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah following submissions and responses for the application by both the defence and the prosecution respectively earlier today.

In legal context, a discovery application refers to a request for parties in a legal action to disclose each other's documents, which are deemed to be linked to a subject matter in a case.

In his submission, lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah invoked Section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code, which requires the prosecution to deliver certain documents, including those of facts which may be deemed favourable to the defence of the accused unless it is contrary to public interest. 

As such, if it is proven from the documents they are seeking that Zeti's family indeed received money from Jho Low, Shafee said her testimony as a potential witness in the trial should seriously be questioned.  

"If they (the prosecution) are calling Tan Sri Zeti, and if they have materials that implicate her credibility, which they have. If a witness such as a Bank Negara governor is coming to testify and her family members received substantial sums of money from Jho Low, her credibility is seriously an issue which we are entitled to question when she gives her evidence," he told the judge. 

In response, senior deputy public prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram argued that it is not Zeti who is accused of corruption in this trial, but the former prime minister.

As such, he contended that it is premature for the defence to make the discovery application now, as the judge should only evaluate the credibility of any prosecution witnesses after having heard their actual testimonies during the trial.

“Yang Arif cannot make an interim finding on the credibility [of Zeti or any other prosecution witnesses] in a criminal case now.

“The court has to look at the evidence as a whole. This is not the stage for the credibility of the witness to be adjudicated on. What Zeti’s family has purportedly received is not relevant at all on whether the accused (Najib) abused his position,” Sri Ram submitted.

In this application, Najib is seeking a court order to obtain bank statements and other related documents of certain companies believed to be related to Jho Low as well as Zeti's husband Datuk Dr Tawfiq Ayman and their son.  

Zeti had previously denied allegations that her family was involved in the 1MDB scandal. Apart from denying the allegations, she said she was unable to make any further statements about the allegation as she is a potential witness in the ongoing trial and therefore it could potentially be sub judice for her to do so.

She is listed as the 26th prosecution witness in the 1MDB-Tanore trial, in which Najib is facing four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering in relation to RM2.3 billion with regard to 1MDB funds.

The defence is also seeking a court order for the prosecution to supply any documents or items in relation to Goldman Sachs, which was responsible for handling the issuance of several bonds in relation to 1MDB.

This is in relation to the recent settlement that the US financial institution has with the Malaysian government where a sum of US$2.5 billion was received as well as another US$1.4 billion worth of possible asset recovery. The US financial institution was initially charged here and the charges were withdrawn following the settlement.

The US financial institution was alleged to have mishandled three bonds totalling US$6.5 billion that were issued by 1MDB in 2012 and 2013.

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