A judge on Friday discharged disgraced former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak from a US$6.3 million money laundering case after ruling that the prosecution had failed to provide relevant documents to the defence.
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The ruling marks the second time a case involving Najib has been dismissed due to prosecutorial inaction, raising fresh questions about the conduct and priorities of the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC).
Najib, who led the country for nine years until his defeat in the 2018 general election, is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence following his 2020 conviction in the first of several 1MDB-related cases. For this case, he has maintained that he was granted the right to home detention under the directive of Malaysia’s previous king.
On Friday, High Court judge K. Muniandy granted Najib’s application for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) after defence lawyer Shafee Abdullah argued that it was unjust to keep the former prime minister in legal limbo for more than six years without a confirmed trial date.
“[Najib] is very happy simply because there are not too many cases overhanging his head [now],” the lawyer told reporters after the verdict.
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A DNAA does not absolve the accused of an alleged offence and allows the prosecution to refile charges at a later date.
Najib, now 72, was initially charged in February 2019 with three counts of receiving 27 million ringgit (US$6.3 million) in proceeds from unlawful activities through three personal bank accounts on July 8, 2014.