Ad hoc prosecutor V Sithambaram today narrated in court the story of the setting up of SRC and how Najib was the company’s shadow director, having overarching control of it.

“He (Najib) was in many aspects running the company. Thus, we call him a ‘shadow’ director,” he said.

Najib is seeking to quash his conviction for abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust over SRC funds amounting to RM42 million that entered his bank accounts.

His conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeal on Dec 8 last year, as was his 12-year jail sentence and RM210 million fine.

Earlier today, in arguing on the abuse of power charge under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act, Sithambaram pointed out that Najib had instructed a former Treasury secretary to “expedite” a RM2 billion loan to SRC in 2011 despite its lack of a track record.

He told the court that in 2012 another loan of RM2 billion was approved for disbursement by KWAP to SRC “as a result of interference by the appellant (Najib)”.

Sithambaram also said that right after KWAP’s RM4 billion was deposited in SRC’s account, a large portion of the money, or RM3.6 billion, was remitted to BSI Bank in Lugano, Switzerland.

The money was subsequently frozen by Swiss authorities.

The hearing continues before a Federal Court panel chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat. The others on the bench are Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and judges Nallini Pathmanathan, Mary Lim and Zabidin Mohamad Diah.