PUTRAJAYA, May 6 — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today officially closed his defence in his trial involving RM2.27 billion of 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) funds, after getting 26 defence witnesses including himself to appear in court.

At slightly before 3pm today, Najib’s lead defence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told the High Court: “Yang Arif, we are closing our case, the defence’s case. Yang Arif, we officially close the case.”

Shafee said Najib had started defending himself in his 1MDB trial on December 2, 2024, with 26 defence witnesses called over a span of 58 days including today.

All that is left now is for both Najib’s lawyers and the prosecution to present their final arguments before the High Court decides on whether Najib is guilty or not in the 1MDB trial.

Trial judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah then asked both sides to file their written submissions by September 30 and any replies to be filed by October 10.

The judge also ordered both Najib’s lawyers and the prosecution to present their final arguments in court over nine days from October 21 to October 24 and from October 27 to October 31.

“I trust that the submissions will focus on the main issues raised by the defence. I don’t think I need to give further instructions. All dates fixed prior to October 2025 are hereby vacated. So once again I thank parties for their assistance,” the judge said.

The High Court today did not fix any date for its decision on whether Najib would be found guilty or not.

This brings the 1MDB trial closer to a conclusion, after close to six years of trial so far.

The then 65-year-old Najib was charged close to seven years ago on September 20, 2018, and the 1MDB trial began on August 28, 2019.

The prosecution had called in 50 prosecution witnesses during 235 days of trial from August 2019 to May 30, 2024.

The High Court on October 30, 2024 ordered Najib to enter his defence.

Najib began his defence on December 2, 2024 and read his witness statement numbering 678 pages in court and answering questions over 26 days in the witness stand, before getting 25 others to come as his defence witnesses.

The 25 other defence witnesses included Malaysia’s former ambassador to Saudi Arabia Datuk Syed Omar Syed Mohamad Al-Saggaf; the Terengganu Sultan’s sister Tengku Datuk Rahimah Sultan Mahmud; former minister Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom; former minister Tan Sri Noh Omar; former 1MDB chairman Tan Sri Che Lodin Wok Kamaruddin; and former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng.

Other key defence witnesses who testified in court include former inspector-general of police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun; former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng; retired police officer Senior Assistant Commissioner R. Rajagopal who led a criminal breach of trust investigation on 1MDB; and three Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers who visited Saudi Arabia in 2015 to investigate the purported four Saudi donation letters to Najib (Fikri Ab Rahim, Mohd Nasharudin Amir and Datuk Mohd Hafaz Nazar).

Najib, who is turning 72 later this year, is facing charges of abusing his power in three roles — as prime minister, finance minister, and 1MDB’s board of advisers’ chairman — over 1MDB matters for his own financial benefit amounting to RM2.27 billion.

He is also facing charges for allegedly laundering more than RM2 billion of 1MDB’s money.

Najib is also currently imprisoned at the Kajang prison, as he is serving his jail term — now reduced to six years — after the Federal Court upheld his conviction in August 2022 over a separate criminal case involving SRC International Sdn Bhd’s RM42 million.