Najib's 1MDB-Tanore trial deferred again to next month due to CMCO

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 9): Former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak's 1Malaysia Development Bhd-Tanore (1MDB-Tanore) trial, which was supposed to resume this week, has been rescheduled to Dec 14 and 17, due to an extension of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO).

A notice was sent by High Court senior assistant registrar Farah Azura Mohd Saad to parties today.

This was confirmed by Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib to theedgemarkets.com today.

“The trial is scheduled to start back tomorrow but we just received the notice from Farah Azura,” he said.

Last weekend, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the CMCO has been announced in all states in Malaysia except for Perlis, Kelantan and Pahang from today until Dec 9, due to rising Covid-19 cases.

1MDB former chief executive officer Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman is the latest witness to testify and was being cross-examined by Najib’s counsel.

Hazem had previously testified in his witness statement that fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, had told him that 1MDB was established to help Umno obtain funds.

He also testified that the former premier had pressured him to replace 1MDB auditor KPMG after it discovered some irregularities during the sovereign fund's 2013 audit.

Najib, who was an ex-Umno president, is facing four counts of abuse of power for using his position as the then prime minister, finance minister and 1MDB board of advisers’ chairman to receive gratification worth RM2.28 billion.

He also faces 21 counts of money laundering involving over RM4.3 billion.

Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah is presiding over the trial.

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