Former PM denies corruption charges
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was charged in court yesterday with criminal breach of trust and corruption, two months after a multibilliondollar graft scandal at a state investment fund led to his shock election defeat.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges. ‘‘I claim trial,’’ he said in a barely audible voice as he stood in the dock at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur. Prosecutors have demanded $1 million bail.
Najib, wearing a suit and a red tie, appeared calm and smiled as he was escorted into the court complex.
He was arrested Tuesday by anti-graft officials over a suspicious transfer of 42 million ringgit ($NZ15.3m) into his bank accounts from SRC International, a former unit of the 1MDB state investment fund that US investigators say was looted of billions by associates of Najib.
He was charged with abuse of power leading to gratification under Malaysia’s anti-corruption law and three counts of criminal breach of trust. Each charge has a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Whipping is also a penalty but Najib would be exempt because of his age.
Najib, 64, has accused the new government of seeking ‘‘political vengeance.’’
New Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad reopened investigations into 1MDB that were stifled under Najib’s rule.
Najib set up 1MDB when he took power in 2009 but the fund amassed billions in debts and is being investigated in the US and several other countries.
Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor were questioned last month over the SRC case by the anti-graft agency and have both been barred from leaving the country.
Police have also seized jewellery and valuables valued at more than 1.1 billion ringgit from properties linked to Najib.
US investigators say $4.5 billion ($NZ6.6b) was stolen from 1MDB by Najib’s associates, including some $700 million that landed in Najib’s bank account.
Bridget Welsh, a Southeast Asia expert at John Cabot University in Rome, said Najib’s arrest was the ‘‘inevitable outcome’’ after he lost power.
‘‘It shows the resolve of the new government to address previous abuses of power. It has been done judiciously so far and speaks to a needed reckoning for Malaysia and a key step toward a cleaner governance,’’ she said.
Malaysia’s new attorney general, Tommy Thomas, will head the prosecution in the case. –