SHAH ALAM – A majority of Umno leaders have expressed their gratitude following the High Court’s decision to grant a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) to Datuk Seri Najib Razak on three charges of money laundering involving RM27 million in SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.
The party’s secretary-general, Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki posted a brief response on Facebook stating, “Alhamdulillah.”
Similar reactions were shared by Umno Youth Chief Datuk Dr Mohamad Akmal Saleh and Women’s Exco member Datuk Nurulhidayah Ahmad Zahid on their social media pages.
Najib, a former prime minister and Umno president, was first charged on February 3, 2019, for allegedly receiving RM27 million from illicit sources via three AmPrivate Banking accounts at AmIslamic Bank Berhad, located at the AmBank Group Building, Jalan Raja Chulan, on July 8, 2014.
The charges were framed under Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001, which carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment or a fine of RM5 million, or both, upon conviction.
The former Pekan MP is currently serving a sentence at Kajang Prison since August 23, 2022, after being convicted of misappropriating RM42 million in SRC International funds.
The High Court had sentenced him to 12 years in prison and fined him RM210 million, a decision that was upheld by both the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court following the rejection of Najib’s appeal.