Court to issue ruling on Najib's 'discharge not amounting to an acquittal' request on June 20
Malaysia's Attorney General's Chambers rejected former Prime Minister Najib Razak's request to drop money laundering charges against him, local media reported on Wednesday.
During Najib's case hearing in High Court, deputy public prosecutor Mohd Ashrof Adrin Kamarul informed the court that Najib requested the Attorney General's Chambers to drop his three money laundering charges in case related to SRC International Sdn Bhd funds, however his request has been rejected, according to the daily Malay Mail.
Najib's lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah suggested that the court grant his client a “discharge not amounting to an acquittal” (DNAA).
However, judge K. Muniandy didn't approve his suggestion and fixed June 20 to decide on Najib's application for DNAA.
A DNAA allows the prosecution to re-charge the accused on the same grounds at a later time.
Najib, 70, is facing several trials in connection with the 1MDB scandal, as both Malaysian and US authorities allege that around $4.5 billion was embezzled from the state fund in a wide-ranging, international scheme from 2009 to 2014.
He was found guilty in 2020 of criminal breach of trust and abuse of power for illegally receiving funds misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a state-owned fund.
Najib is currently serving his sentence in Kajang Prison in Selangor province.
Last year, the Malaysian monarchy granted him a pardon, reducing his 12-year sentence by half.
In July, Najib applied to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, but his request was denied.
