Malaysia’s Najib charged with corruption, after stunning ouster
Just eight weeks after losing an election, former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was charged on Wednesday with abuse of power and criminal breach of trust in an investigation of how billions of dollars went missing from a state fund.
Najib, who had been detained on Tuesday, pleaded not guilty, but the charges and his court appearance were the culmination of a swift and stunning downfall for a premier who led for nearly a decade.
“I believe in my innocence and this is the best chance to clear my name,” Najib told reporters outside the courtroom after being released on bail of 1 million ringgit ($247,000).
Crowds of journalists and onlookers jostled for a glance of Najib, and some backers of his UMNO party held up placards in support of a man whose father, Malaysia’s second prime minister, is held in high regard.
National television networks broadcast live images of Najib’s convoy moving through morning rush-hour traffic to the court in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, an extraordinary spectacle few could have imagined before the May 9 election upset.
Najib thwarted corruption allegations for years after revelations in 2015 that hundreds of millions of dollars from troubled state fund 1MDB were diverted to his personal accounts.
But his life has unravelled since the election defeat by his one-time mentor and the country’s most seasoned politician, Mahathir Mohamad, who returned to the prime minister’s office he occupied from 1981 to 2003.
Mahathir reopened an investigation into the fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), and barred Najib from leaving the country. Wednesday’s charges fulfilled an election promise to prosecute Najib, whom he called a “thief” during the campaign.
Besides the abuse of power, Najib has been charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust, which carry prison sentences of up to 20 years. The abuse of power charge carries a fine of five times the “value of gratification.” He was ordered to surrender his passports and the judge set the trial for February 18 next year.