PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram will continue to lead the prosecution in cases linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) after the Court of Appeal here dismissed Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s bid to disqualify him.

       A three-man panel, chaired by Justice Yaacob Sam, unanimously dismissed his appeal on grounds that there was no appealable error by the High Court judge in dismissing Najib’s application.

       “We find there is no merit in this appeal. We therefore dismiss this appeal. The order of the High Court is affirmed,” he said.

       Other judges on the panel were Justices Abu Bakar Jais and Che Ruzima Ghazali.

       Najib is appealing against the High Court’s decision that dismissed his application to disqualify Sri Ram from leading the prosecution in four of his 1MDB-linked cases including the RM2.2bil 1MDB trial and the 1MDB audit report tampering trial, which are currently ongoing.

       The other two cases are his and former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah’s case involving criminal breach of trust (CBT) charges totalling RM6.6bil, and another case on three money-laundering charges involving RM27mil of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.

       The panel earlier heard submissions from both parties in online proceedings via Zoom yesterday.

       Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah submitted that the then attorney general (AG) had wrongly directed Sri Ram to be involved in the investigation and thereafter the prosecution of Najib, in a letter of appointment where the AG invoked his power to appoint under Section 376(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

       Muhammad Shafee said it was clear from the letter that Sri Ram, who was appointed a senior deputy public prosecutor, was to “spearhead the investigation” on 1MDB and the prosecution of the personalities responsible for the fraud.

       He said one could not be impartial when one was involved in both the investigation and the prosecution.

       Muhammad Shafee also raised the issue of biasness as he referred to former attorney general Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali’s affidavit that claimed Sri Ram had a preconceived view of Najib’s guilt.

       The lawyer read a WhatsApp conversation between Mohamed Apandi and Sri Ram where Sri Ram had referred to the appellant as “Criminal Najib”.

       Meanwhile, Sri Ram submitted that there was no cogent evidence to show he was involved in any investigation prior to the prosecution.He said nowhere in the appointment letter was he tasked to conduct the investigation.

       “I did not go down and take statements from witnesses, nor did I take any photographs or go to the bank to seize documents or go along and arrest the accused,” said Sri Ram.

       He said his opinion of Najib was his own and not what the court took into account in evaluating evidence in the case.

       “There is no complaint of suppression of evidence, or tampering or coaching the witnesses,” he added.

       Sri Ram further submitted that the disqualification application was an attempt to delay 1MDB cases.