The judge who handed down a guilty conviction in Najib’s SRC trial now under under investigation

Malaysia – Malaysia’s anti-graft authorities have launched a probe into the contents of Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali’s bank account.

Tan Sri Azam Baki, the chairman of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), verified the matter to The Star, adding that the investigation paper was initiated after complaints were submitted on money in the account said to be of unknown source.

“We have begun our investigation, yes.” When a report is formally submitted, the procedure is to investigate.

He was cited in The Star as saying, “We began an inquiry paper because there were reports submitted, not because assertions were made on portals or social media.”

Azam, on the other hand, refused to give comments if his investigators would be looking for papers or summoning anyone for questioning.

He noted that they are still in the early phases of the investigation and during the course of the inquiry, his officers will make a decision.

Nazlan was the judge who presided over former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s SRC trial at the High Court, which began in April 2019 and ended in July 2020, when Najib was found guilty. In February 2022, Nazlan was promoted to the position of Court of Appeal judge.

Following the High Court’s ruling in July 2020, in which Najib was found guilty of misappropriating RM42 million in SRC money, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal unanimously confirmed Najib’s conviction, fine, and prison sentence on December 8, 2021.

Nazlan filed a police report two days ago after false claims were made against him in a blog post.

“Judge Mohd Nazlan being probed for inexplicable RM1 million in his bank account,” wrote blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin on the site Malaysia Today on April 20.

According to the Office of the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court, Nazlan considered the piece to be malicious in purpose and full of false assertions.