Malaysia’s former PM arrested in $6B probe
Najib Razak, the former prime minister of Malaysia, was arrested Tuesday over his alleged links to a multi-billion-dollar corruption scandal involving a state investment fund that he founded almost a decade ago.
He was set to be charged in court Wednesday, an investigating task force said in a statement after he was picked up by anti-corruption officers at his residence in the capital, Kuala Lumpur.
In a pre-recorded video posted on social media hours after his arrest, Najib apologized to Malaysians but remained defiant.
“I have done my best, but I realized it is not enough. I admit there are many weaknesses .... as a normal human being, I am not perfect but believe me, that the accusations against me and my family are not all true,” he said. “I will face it with perseverance. Truly, Allah knows.”
Najib and Rosmah Mansoor, his wife, have been barred from leaving the country since he lost an election in May to Mahathir Mohamad, his former mentor, who swiftly reopened an investigation into the alleged plundering of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fund.
Properties linked to the Najib family have been raided by police officers, and Datuk Seri Amar Singh, head of the police commercial crime division, told reporters last week that the retail costs of all the items taken from six properties totalled $294 million-$359 million, the biggest seizure in Malaysian history.
The haul included 12,000 pieces of jewelry, featuring a diamond necklace worth more than $1.7 million, along with 567 handbags, 234 pairs of sunglasses and 423 watches.Najib said most of the items from his houses were gifts given to his wife and daughter and had nothing to do with 1MDB.
The former prime minister has always denied any wrongdoing linked to the 1MDB fund, which is being investigated in at least six countries for alleged money laundering and bribery.
U.S. investigators have alleged that Najib’s associates stole and laundered $5.9 billion from the fund between 2009 to 2014.
Najib’s arrest was in relation to a probe into SRC International, a former 1MDB unit created to pursue overseas investments in energy resources, a task force investigating the fund said.