KUALA LUMPUR: Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) trial will resume on Aug 17 as lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah is undergoing self-quarantine after coming into close contact with a COVID-19 patient last week.

Counsel Rahmat Hazlan, who is one of Najib's defence team members, said the case was initially scheduled to resume today before Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah

"That's right, Tan Sri (Muhammad Shafee) is currently undergoing self-quarantine," he said when contacted via WhatsApp.

Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib, when contacted, also confirmed the postponement of the trial.

The case was last heard on May 27.

Najib's lawyer Wan Aizuddin Wan Mohammed is expected to continue cross-examining the 10th prosecution witness Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman, 49, former 1MDB chief executive officer when the trial resumed.

Najib, 67, is facing four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.

-- BERNAMA