Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has submitted an application to introduce fresh evidence in his ongoing appeal to overturn his conviction on 25 charges involving abuse of power and money laundering linked to the 1MDB scandal.
The application was filed last week by his legal team, Shafee & Co, under Section 61 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 and Rule 7A of the Court of Appeal Rules 1994, according to Free Malaysia Today.
In legal terms, “fresh evidence” refers to information discovered after a trial has concluded. For it to be accepted, it must meet strict legal thresholds, including proof that it was not available during the original trial and that it is directly relevant to the case outcome.
Najib is seeking to rely on new material involving fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, commonly known as Jho Low, as well as former 1MDB legal counsel Jasmine Loo in support of his appeal.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib confirmed awareness of the application when contacted, but did not provide further details.
During the original trial, Low was not called as a witness by the prosecution, while Loo was extensively cross-examined by the defence and presented as a key witness in proceedings.
The Court of Appeal has yet to fix hearing dates for the appeal, pending written grounds of judgment from Court of Appeal judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah, who presided over the case at trial level.
In his earlier ruling, Sequerah found Najib guilty on 26 December of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion in 1MDB funds deposited into his AmBank accounts between 2011 and 2014.
He was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and fined RM11.387 billion, with the custodial sentence set to commence in 2028 after completion of his SRC International case sentence.
For the money laundering charges, Najib was given five years’ imprisonment for each count and ordered to pay a recoverable sum of RM2.08 billion.
In January 2024, the Federal Territories Pardons Board reduced his SRC sentence, halving his jail term and lowering his fine to RM50 million, with his current sentence now set to end on August 23, 2028.
