Latest news with #Shafee
Malaysiakini
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Malaysiakini
Shafee clarifies 'Nazi-Germany' remark
Lawyer Shafee Abdullah has issued a statement clarifying his 'Nazi-Germany' comment made yesterday, in a press conference outside the Kuala Lumpur High Court. In a statement issued by his law firm, Shafee and Co, his legal team explained that Shafee's remark was made during an exchange with a journalist.
New Straits Times
06-05-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Najib seeks DNAA for three other SRC-linked charges
KUALA LUMPUR: The lawyer for Datuk Seri Najib Razak today applied to the High Court to grant the former prime minister a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) in connection to three other money laundering charges involving SRC International Sdn Bhd funds amounting to RM27 million. Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah made the application before High Court judge K. Muniandy after deputy public prosecutor Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul sought a one-month extension to decide on Najib's July 31, 2023, representation to the Attorney-General's Chambers (A-GC) seeking to drop the charges. Shafee said the former 72-year-old Pekan member of parliament's representation has not changed in terms of facts and they have yet to receive any reply from the A-GC since 2023. "May I ask formally, Yang Arif, because I think it would probably assist the A-GC to decide one way or the other. "If Yang Arif were to grant a DNAA on this matter, because it has been two years and it is sitting in Yang Arif's docket for too long. "I think this is the best way to deal with the matter (DNAA). It takes pressure from everyone, and a decision can be made at their own comfort. "We are only asking for a DNAA because if they want to reignite the case, they can always do that and there is no pressure on them to decide," he said. Shafee said it does not augur well for Najib's case to be in the docket of a criminal court for too long. Najib was not present in court today as his presence was exempted. However, Ashrof said he had no further instructions on Shafee's DNAA application and left it to the court to decide. "The intention is to provide a decision in a month. We are positively considering the representation. "We are considering a lot of factors, such as the accused has several cases pending at other High Courts and an ongoing trial. "Whether the (representation decision) is negative or positive, I have no liberty to answer," he said. After hearing both parties, Muniandy told Shafee that a final chance ought to be given to the A-GC to weigh Najib's representation. He allowed Ashrof's application for a month's extension and set June 11 for the A-GC to deliver its decision on the representation. He ordered Ashrof to prepare his arguments for Shafee's DNAA application. On Feb 3, 2019, Najib claimed trial to the three charges of money laundering by accepting illegal proceeds amounting to RM27 million through his three AmPrivate Banking accounts at AmIslamic Bank Berhad, AmBank Group Building, Jalan Raja Chulan on July 8, 2014. He was charged under Section 4 (1) (a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001, which is punishable by a maximum fine of RM5 million or imprisonment of up to five years, or both upon conviction. The former Umno president is currently serving a jail term in Kajang Prison for the misappropriation of RM42 million in the SRC International funds case. On Sept 2, 2022, he filed a petition for a royal pardon, following which on Jan 29 the Pardons Board halved his jail term from 12 to six years and reduced the fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.
Malaysian Reserve
24-04-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
No conspiracy with Najib in Roger Ng's US 1MDB-related charges, court hears
By FARAH SOLHI NONE of the three criminal charges levelled against Goldman Sachs former managing director Roger Ng Chong Hwa in the United States (US) courts regarding 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case involved him conspiring with Datuk Seri Najib Razak, court heard on Thursday. The claim was expressed by Ng during his examination by Najib's lead defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah this morning. Ng also agreed with Shafee's questions that apart from him, former Goldman Sachs' participating managing director Tim Leissner and fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) were separately charged in the same court, where they were accused of conspiring to launder and misappropriated funds from 1MDB. Shafee: Were you, or any one of you, charged of being in conspiracy with Najib in the charge? Ng: I don't believe so. Shafee: In the course of your defence (in the US trial), through your lawyers, you have blamed Leissner very, very much in the transactions Ng: Yes Shafee: And you have also blamed rather heavily, as expected, Jho Low Ng: Yes The trial took a momentarily heated turn when Ng used the Protection Order issued against him by Eastern District of New York court, in responding to several of Shafee's questions including if Ng had given any statement to authorities upon his return in 2023, in assisting their investigation into 1MDB. It prompted deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib to stand up and questioned the relevancy of Shafee's question to the case. 'At this stage, I have to object (because) this is a trial against Najib – I don't see the relevancy on how and why (Ng coming back to Malaysia) and whatnot – to this case. 'This fishing expedition that has been going on is far too much already. It goes to the boundary of this Protective Order so I think because of the irrelevance of the questions, it should be stopped here at this stage.' Shafee responded to Akram's objection by saying that the defence team is trying to show that Ng gave lengthy statements to authorities despite the order is already in force. Prior to Akram's objection, the presiding judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah said Ng still has the right to answer or invoke the order while the latter is on the stand, despite his ruling yesterday – which say Malaysian courts are not bound to follow US courts orders. In March 2023, US federal court sentenced Ng to 10 years after a jury found him guilty for conspiring to launder funds from 1MDB, conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by paying more than $1.6 billion (RM7.018 billion) in bribes to a dozen government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi as well as violating FCPA by circumventing the internal accounting controls of Goldman Sachs. Ng was repatriated to Malaysia in October the same year to assist authorities in ongoing 1MDB investigations. The trial is now hearing Najib's defence, after High Court ordered him, in October 2024, to defend himself against all 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering involving 1MDB funds Najib is currently serving his sentence in Kajang Prison, Selangor, after the Federal Court upheld the Kuala Lumpur High Court's conviction for corruption involving RM42 million in funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
New Straits Times
24-04-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Shafee grills Roger Ng over 1MDB conviction and Najib links
PUTRAJAYA: Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah wasted no time in zeroing in on rogue banker Roger Ng Chong Hwa, demanding clarity on his conviction in the United States (US) and any possible links to Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) financial scandal. Shafee, who is defending the former prime minister in his ongoing corruption trial, methodically scrutinised the former Goldman Sachs banker's background - including his surrender to US authorities, his conviction, and the role of elusive financier Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low. Ng, who is currently under the witness protection programme, took the stand today as a defence witness in Najib's corruption trial involving the misappropriation of billions from 1MDB. Shafee opened his line of questioning by probing Ng on his criminal charges in the US, where he was accused of conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and to launder billions of dollars. Shafee: In the US, you were charged with conspiracy... you must have been charged with somebody else because you cannot conspire alone. Ng: Yes. Shafee: Who was that person? Ng: Low Taek Jho and Tim Leissner (former head of Goldman Sachs's Southeast Asia operations). Shafee: The charges all related to 1MDB? Ng: Yes. Shafee: Were you charged with conspiring with Najib? Ng: I do not believe so. Ng also told the court that during his trial in the US, his defence was based on the argument that although he was involved, he was not a conspirator. He was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment by the US Federal Court in Brooklyn, New York, after being found guilty of helping to embezzle billions from 1MDB. Shafee also highlighted reports that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) was allegedly "not happy" about Ng's return to Malaysia before completing his sentence in the US. However, Ng said, according to his lawyer, his return was solely to facilitate investigations into 1MDB. Ng further admitted to raising red flags about Low Taek Jho within Goldman Sachs, but stressed that he was limited in what he could reveal due to a protective order issued by the US court. Chief judge Margo Brodie had ordered Ng to be handed over to US authorities before being transferred into Malaysian custody. According to a letter from the US DOJ to Judge Brodie, once investigations in Malaysia are completed, Ng will be returned to the US to serve the remainder of his sentence. Najib faces four charges of abusing his position to obtain RM2.3 billion in bribes from 1MDB funds, as well as 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount. The trial continues.
Daily Express
23-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Express
Judge rules Roger Ng can testify in Najib's 1MDB trial in Malaysia, despite US court order
Published on: Wednesday, April 23, 2025 Published on: Wed, Apr 23, 2025 By: Ida Lim, Malay Mail Text Size: The judge had made the ruling after hearing arguments from both Shafee and Ng's lawyer on whether he should be called in to testify today. — Reuters pic PUTRAJAYA: The High Court today ruled that former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng can appear as a witness and testify in former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial here in Malaysia, even though a US court order imposes restrictions on Ng. Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, the trial judge in Najib's 1MDB trial here, said the High Court here is bound and subject to its own jurisdiction, and cannot be made subject to any foreign jurisdiction. The judge said the US court order — a protective order — 'does not bind this court'. The judge also said he will not wait for Ng's lawyers to ask the US court to make changes to the protective order to enable the former banker to testify in the 1MDB trial in Malaysia. 'This is a public interest case which has proceeded for far too long, this court is not prepared to wait for any variation sought,' he said. Najib's lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah then requested to be given half an hour to interview Ng, and the judge then allowed the 1MDB trial to be adjourned for half an hour as requested. The judge had made the ruling after hearing arguments from both Shafee and Ng's lawyer on whether he should be called in to testify today. * Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss. * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
