Shafee claims recent repatriation of major 1MDB suspect will affect Najib's case
KUALA LUMPUR: The recent repatriation of a suspect linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal is likely to alter the course of Datuk Seri Najib Razak's ongoing trial.
In making this claim, Najib's lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said the development would affect his client's trial as the suspect played a major role in the scandal.
However, the senior lawyer declined to elaborate as the trial was still ongoing.
"We will see what will happen," he said when met ahead of Najib's corruption trial for money laundering and misappropriation of RM2.3 billion belonging to 1MDB.
On May 5, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in a statement said it successfully recovered RM16 million and brought back a suspect in the 1MDB and SRC International Sdn Bhd (SRC) investigations.
A MACC source said the repatriation of the suspect from Singapore was a result of the close cooperation between it and Singapore's Commercial Affairs Department.
The source said checks showed that the suspect received money from the misappropriated 1MDB and SRC funds through a company bank account, registered under Wright Shaw Ltd.
The source said, on April 26, MACC managed to retrieve an estimated RM16 million from a company known as Totality Ltd owned by 1MDB's former executive director of business development, Tang Keng Chee.
Tang also known as Casey Tang, was the executive director of business development of 1MDB from 2012 to 2013.
"The conspiracy was to mislead the bank and hide certain facts from the board of directors of 1MDB to transfer US$700 million to Good Star Ltd, allegedly owned by Low Taek Jho (Jho Low)," said the source.
MACC has so far managed to recover approximately 70 per cent of 1MDB's assets, involving a total of RM28.3 billion.
Source: NST
