KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in his final SRC International Sdn Bhd criminal case involving RM27 million, following a prolonged delay in trial proceedings since 2019.
High Court Judge K. Muniandy ruled that the delay had denied Najib a timely resolution, with no indication the case could proceed in the near future, thus making a DNAA the most appropriate order under the circumstances. With this ruling, Najib now faces only the ongoing 1MDB trial, as he continues to serve a reduced six-year sentence for his earlier RM42 million SRC conviction.
Judge Muniandy emphasised that the DNAA order does not prevent the prosecution from reinstating charges should they be ready to proceed, noting that even the Deputy Public Prosecutor conceded there would be no prejudice in granting the discharge.
Najib’s lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, welcomed the decision, saying the former premier was “happy” to have fewer pending cases and could now focus entirely on his 1MDB defence. The original charges, filed in 2019, accused Najib of laundering RM27 million in illegal proceeds via his AmPrivate Banking accounts in 2014.
Despite the prosecution’s request for more time to compile voluminous documents and proceed with trial, the court found the risk of indefinite postponement to be contrary to the principles of justice. Judge Muniandy stressed that the delay, exacerbated by the pandemic and other legal proceedings, left the accused in a state of legal limbo for nearly six years.
Najib, who remains incarcerated at Kajang Prison, was previously acquitted in a separate 1MDB audit report tampering case and also received a DNAA in the RM6.6 billion IPIC criminal breach of trust case. While his legal team has long advocated for a resolution in the dormant RM27 million SRC matter, today’s DNAA provides temporary closure — though it leaves the door open for future prosecution if the Attorney General’s Chambers decides to revive the case.
