The application was filed by legal firm Shafee & Co last week under Section 61 of the Court of Judicature Act 164 and Rule 7A of the Court of Appeal Rules 1994.

“Fresh evidence” refers to information discovered after a trial concludes. It must satisfy several stringent conditions prescribed in the landmark English case of Ladd v Marshall before it can be referred to in an appeal.

Najib, 73, wants fresh evidence about fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, and former 1MDB legal counsel Jasmine Loo to be before the court in his appeal hearing.

When contacted by FMT, deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib confirmed knowledge of the matter.

Jho Low was not called by the prosecution to testify in the case, while Loo, hailed as its star witness, was subjected to intense cross-examination by the defence.

The Court of Appeal has yet to set hearing dates for Najib’s appeal, as both parties are awaiting the written grounds of judgment from Federal Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah, who presided over the trial.

On Dec 26, Sequerah, sitting as a High Court judge, found Najib guilty of four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion in 1MDB funds deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.

Najib was given a 15-year jail sentence and imposed a RM11.387 billion fine after the court found him guilty of all charges.

Sequerah ordered the jail term to begin in 2028 after Najib completes his six-year prison sentence in his SRC International case.

For the 21 money laundering charges, Sequerah sentenced Najib to five years’ imprisonment on each charge and ordered him to pay a recoverable sum of RM2.08 billion.

In January 2024, the Federal Territories’ Pardons Board reduced his sentence in the SRC case by halving his jail term and lowering his fine to RM50 million. The sentence is scheduled to end on Aug 23, 2028.