KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 18): The investigations which led to Datuk Seri Najib Razak's charges in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd-Tanore (1MDB-Tanore) trial were "shoddy" and "incomplete", the defence contends.

As submissions at the end of the prosecution's stage of the trial continued to plod along on Wednesday, the defence trained its guns on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigations, which formed the basis of the prosecution's case against the former prime minister.

Defence lawyer Wan Azwan Aiman Wan Fakhruddin said MACC investigating officer Nur Aida Arifin's probe was "egregiously biased" and "selective", resulting in gaps in the prosecution's case and depriving Najib of a fair trial.

He argued that this was clear when the investigation paper (IP) and proposed charges were forwarded to the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) even before Najib's statement to the anti-corruption agency was completed.

The IP was sent to the AGC on Aug 28, 2018. Najib was charged on Sept 19, 2018. The recording of his statement was only completed the day after he was charged.

Furthermore, Wan Azwan Aiman said that Najib's side of the story, which Najib had mentioned to the MACC, was not investigated thoroughly. For example, no statements were recorded from Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Finance to ascertain whether the monies in Najib's account were indeed a donation.

Wan Azwan Aiman said that wrongdoings by the company's management were also not investigated.

"[Najib's statement] was nothing more than a mere formality and purely an administrative task," he said.

The defence counsel also argued that Najib was not given clear details of the accusations against him, which handicapped the former PM from mounting a proper defence.

The 71-year-old was once again seen being wheeled into the courtroom. Like Tuesday, he sat outside the dock to enable him to stretch his legs. He was seen still using a walking stick.

The ex-PM is recuperating from an acute knee inflammation for which he was hospitalised last week.

In this trial, Najib faces four counts of abuse of power for using his position as the then-prime minister, finance minister, and chairman of 1MDB’s board of advisers to receive gratifications worth US$620 million (RM2.27 billion). He also faces 21 money-laundering charges.

The trial before judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues.