1MDB audit tampering: Prosecution's appeal set fo case management

The Court of Appeal has scheduled another case management for the prosecution’s appeal against the acquittal of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and former CEO of 1MDB, Arul Kanda Kandasamy, in the 1MDB audit tampering case. The case management is set to take place on Wednesday, August 30.

Najib’s lawyer, Alaistair Brandah Norman, and Arul Kanda’s lawyer, Datuk N. Sivananthan, confirmed the next case management date when contacted by Bernama.

Sivananthan stated that the court will decide on Wednesday whether the matter should be fixed for case management before the appellate court’s deputy registrar or mentioned before the Court of Appeal panel. He explained that this decision is necessary as the prosecution has yet to file a petition of appeal, despite the time for filing already passing.

Meanwhile, Alaistair noted that the defense argues that the prosecution’s appeal is defective due to the lack of a filed petition of appeal.

According to court procedure, the petition of appeal must be filed within 10 days of receiving the appeal records from the High Court registry. This petition would contain the grounds for the prosecution’s appeal against the High Court decision.

The prosecution initially filed a notice of appeal on March 9, seeking to appeal to the Court of Appeal against the High Court’s decision to acquit and discharge Najib and Arul Kanda.

A case management was conducted on Monday, August 28, with Court of Appeal senior assistant registrar Nurul Azrina Mohamed Yusof presiding. Najib’s defense was represented by lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Muhammad Farhan Shafee, and Alaistair, while Sivananthan and Jasmine Cheong appeared for Arul Kanda. Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Fuad Abdul Aziz represented the prosecution.

On March 3, High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan (now Court of Appeal judge) released Najib and Arul Kanda without calling them to enter their defense. Najib, who is currently serving a 12-year jail sentence for misappropriating funds, was charged with using his position to order amendments to the 1MDB final audit report to avoid facing action from the Public Accounts Committee. Arul Kanda was charged with abetting Najib in making the amendments to protect him from being subjected to action. The alleged offense occurred between February 22 and 26, 2016, at the Prime Minister’s Department Complex in Putrajaya.