Malaysia arrests former prime minister Najib in corruption case
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has arrested the country’s former Prime Minister Najib Razak amid new corruption charges over $628 million allegedly siphoned off from state investment fund 1MDB.
The commission said in a statement that it had arrested Najib on Wednesday as part of its investigations into the scandal-plagued 1MDB and "the entry of 2.6 billion ringgit ($628 million) into his personal account."
The huge sums from the fund were reportedly transferred into Najib’s bank accounts ahead of the 2013 election.
According to the statement, the former premier will appear in court on Thursday, where he faces several charges related to allegedly abusing his position.
Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, have been under intense scrutiny since May, when he was ousted from office in elections and his 93-year-old former mentor, Mahathir Mohamad, was elected prime minister.
Mahathir barred them from leaving the country and reopened an investigation into the 1MDB as soon as he took office. He has pledged to bring to justice all of those responsible for the alleged multi-billion-dollar fraud.
Since losing power, Najib has already been detained and hit with seven charges related to three electronic transfers amounting to 42 million ringgit (10 million dollars) from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB, into Najib’s personal bank account.
1MDB was founded by Najib himself. It is being investigated by at least six countries, including Singapore, Switzerland, and the United States, over alleged money laundering and graft.
According to lawsuits filed in American courts by the US Department of Justice, an estimated 4.5 billion dollars was misappropriated from 1MDB by high-level officials of the fund and their associates.
Najib, however, has consistently denied the charges, saying that his trial would be a “test” for the Malaysian judiciary.
The former prime minister was cleared of all wrongdoing in an earlier probe when he was in office, but critics say that probe was a sham.
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