Malaysia ex-PM, allies charged in latest corruption cases
Malaysia’s toppled leader, an exfinance ministry official and a former spy chief were charged with misusing public funds Thursday, the latest corruption cases against figures from the scandal-plagued old regime.
Former prime minister Najib Razak has now been hit with 38 charges since losing power, most related to allegations that he and his cronies plundered vast sums from sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.
The scandal played a major part in prompting voters to oust his coalition at elections in May after six decades in power and elect a reformist alliance headed by Mahathir Mohamad.
Najib was jointly charged in a Kuala Lumpur court with Mohamad Irwan Serigar Abdullah – former treasury secretary-general – with misusing 6.6 billion ringgit ($1.6 billion) of public money. They were charged with six counts of criminal breach of trust over offences that allegedly took place between December 2016 and December 2017. They denied all the charges.
Four related to 1MDB’s dealings with Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund IPIC, the anti-corruption agency said.
The others were over payments related to two Chinesebacked infrastructure projects – a major rail link and the construction of gas pipelines, Najib’s lawyer Shafee Abdullah said. He insisted Najib had simply been making payments to avoid defaulting on debts, which would have been disastrous for the economy.
“My conscience is clear,” Najib insisted after being charged. “The decisions taken were taken for the interests of the nation.”
The Chinese-financed projects have been suspended by Mahathir’s government, which suspects the deals were dubious and aimed at raising cash quickly to pay 1MDB debts.
The fund slid into a massive debt hole as huge sums were allegedly stolen and used to buy everything from a super-yacht, to real estate and artworks.
The US Department of Justice, seeking to seize assets allegedly bought with looted 1MDB money in the US, alleges that a total $4.5 billion was misappropriated from the fund.