Ex-leader under arrest

MALAYSIA’S toppled leader Najib Razak was arrested on Wednesday and will be charged over allegations that $628 million linked to state investment fund 1MDB ended up in his personal bank accounts, officials said.

Allegations that Mr Najib (pictured) and his cronies looted huge sums from the investment vehicle were a major factor in the shock defeat of his long-ruling coalition in elections in May, at the hands of a reformist alliance headed by Mahathir Mohamad.

Mr Mahathir, 93, in his second stint as premier after coming out of retirement to take on his ex-protege Mr Najib, has reopened probes into 1MDB that were shut down by the former government, and vowed to bring Mr Najib to justice.

Since losing power, Mr Najib has already been arrested and hit with seven charges related to claims he pocketed $10 million from a former unit of 1MDB.

But his arrest on Wednesday was more significant as it related to a central allegation in the long-running scandal – that huge sums from the fund flowed into his bank accounts before an election in 2013.

Mr Najib was due to face court on Thursday afternoon on several charges related to abuse of power.