Co-accused and former 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy was also acquitted of a charge of abetting Najib in the commission of the offence.
Justice Zaini Mazlan held that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against Najib under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.
In his judgment, Zaini held that although four items were removed from the 1MDB audit report, those items did not give rise to the possibility of any civil or criminal proceedings being brought against Najib.
“I agree with the defence’s submissions that there is no causal link between the amendments made and the gratification alleged.
“There is no evidence to suggest or prove that the second accused (Najib) had explicitly directed (that) the amendments (be) made to exonerate him from any civil or criminal liability.
“He was merely concerned that the report would be spun politically,” the judge said.
Zaini pointed out that the key prosecution witness, former auditor-general Ambrin Buang had agreed that he was “not forced or coerced” by Najib to make changes to the earlier report.
Instead, Ambrin said the ultimate discretion as to whether to make the proposed amendments rested with him.
The court had heard that Ambrin and his National Audit Department (NAD) officers conducted their audit on 1MDB from March 9, 2015 to March 4, 2016.
They were supposed to table the findings to the PAC on Feb 24, 2016, but the meeting with the PAC members did not take place.
Ambrin and several officers were then told to attend a meeting at the office of the then chief secretary to the government, the late Ali Hamsa, on the same day.
The others present were Arul Kanda, Najib’s principal private secretary at the time, Shukry Mohd Salleh, senior treasury officials, and an official from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).
After the meeting, four items were removed from the report, namely, references to two 2014 financial statements, the issuance of Islamic medium-term notes, the Islamic bonds’ secondary subscriber, and to Low Taek Jho’s (Jho Low) presence at 1MDB board meetings.
The trial began on Nov 18, 2019.
The prosecution closed its case on Sept 7, 2022 after calling 16 witnesses, including former auditor-general Madinah Mohamad, former 1MDB chairman Bakke Salleh, and former National Audit Department audit director Saadatul Nafisah Bashir Ahmad.
The court had also previously allowed the prosecution’s bid to call Arul Kanda to testify on its behalf.
Najib was accused of abusing his power to obtain immunity from legal action and causing amendments to the finalised 1MDB audit report prior to its tabling before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Arul Kanda was accused of abetting him in the commission of the alleged offence.
The offence was allegedly committed at the Prime Minister’s Department in Putrajaya between Feb 22 and 26, 2016.