Ever since Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor have been found guilty of their respective charges, the public has shifted their attention to the former premier and his wife’s accomplice, Jho Low.
While the search for Jho Low is arguably the most high profile, eyes are also on Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah. Â
According to BERNAMA, The High Court was told yesterday that lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah claimed that the RM9.5 million he received from Datuk Seri Najib Razak was a loan, to cover his criminal act and to protect the source of the money.
On the other hand, Deputy Public Prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz argued that Muhammad Shafee had the intention to avoid paying tax on the RM9.5 million income as he wished to use the money to buy a RM9.3 million bungalow.
Afzainizam argued that the lawyer used the money for personal gain although he had a smooth cash flow and had no problem reporting his gross income to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) as well as being able to pay income tax.
“Why was the money (RM9.5 million) not declared to the IRB? Why did this happen… because he (Muhammad Shafee) was prioritising his personal gains of buying the bungalow.”
“He as a lawyer should know that income must be reported and every lawyer is reminded by the Bar Council to report their income. However, he used almost 97 percent of the RM9.5 million he received to pay for the purchase of assets, when the money should have been used to pay income tax,” he said.
According to Afzainizam, the results of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation also showed that the two cheques received from the former prime minister were from illegal activities which were then deposited into the lawyer’s personal account.
He said that Muhammad Shafee had told MACC that the RM9.5 million was a loan from Najib, and he did not need to report it to the IRB or pay tax because it was not income.
Meanwhile, lawyer Harvinderjit Singh, who represents Muhammad Shafee, argued that the RM9.5 million his client received from Najib was not the result of illegal activities.
“The money was obtained legally after Muhammad Shafee provided legal services to Najib in relation to UMNO and Barisan Nasional (BN) election petitions,” he said, adding that Najib should be called to testify in court, to prove that the money given was legal money.
After both sides argued, Judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin set Oct 28 for a decision on whether the prominent lawyer would be released or ordered to defend himself against the four charges he was facing.
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