This morning, Justice Zaini Mazlan issued a certificate of indemnity in Arul Kanda’s favour after being satisfied that he had been truthful and given full discovery when testifying in the case.
This followed the court’s acquittal of Najib Razak from a charge of abuse of power without calling for his defence.
Arul Kanda, who was charged with abetting Najib in the commission of the offence, was also acquitted, after Zaini ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against either of the accused.
“This certificate shall be a bar to all legal proceedings against him (Arul Kanda) in respect of the matters arising from the charge,” Zaini added.
Zaini said he found that Arul Kanda had been consistent throughout his testimony, and had answered all questions posed both by the prosecution and Najib’s lawyers to the best of his ability.
“I am mindful that he (could have attempted) to minimise his part and amplify any wrongdoings of the other accused (Najib).
“But he did not. His answers, to an extent, favoured the other accused, and the prosecution never challenged him on his answers,” Zaini said.
The judge also found that Arul Kanda did not attempt to camouflage the “shenanigans” surrounding 1MDB, as he was only appointed to “rescue the company” from its financial woes.
“He left what was presumably a promising career abroad and was ‘vilified’ for 1MDB affairs, perhaps unfairly.
“Many of the problems (in 1MDB) were caused before his tenure,” Zaini added.
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).
The court had previously allowed the prosecution’s bid to call Arul Kanda to testify on its behalf.
In his testimony, Arul Kanda said Najib had instructed him to attend a meeting on Feb 24, 2016 to discuss amendments to the audit report.
He also said Najib had expressed concern that the contents of the report could be spun from a political perspective.