Malaysia ex-pm, allies to face corruption charges

FACING MUSIC: Najib has already been hit with 32 charges related to allegations he and his cronies plundered state fund

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s former leader Najib Razak and two of his allies will face corruption charges on Thursday, as authorities target a growing list of figures linked to the scandal.

Najib has already been hit with 32 charges related to allegations he and his cronies plundered state fund 1MDB, and is likely facing a long jail term.

The scandal played a major part in persuading voters to oust his coalition at elections in May after six decades in power and elect a reformist alliance.

Najib is due to be charged in court on Thursday along with the former head of a shadowy spy agency, Hasanah Abdul Hamid, and a senior finance ministry official, Mohamad Irwan Serigar Abdullah, the Malaysian Anti-corruption Commission said in a statement.

Najib and the ministry official will be charged “in relation to criminal breach of trust involving money belonging to the government of Malaysia,” the agency said.

The former spy chief, who headed an agency that worked directly under Najib’s office, will face similar charges, the statement added.

The anti-graft body did not say how many charges the trio will face on Thursday, or give any further details.

Najib was earlier questioned at the commission’s office in the administrative capital Putrajaya for several hours before being released.

Mohamad Irwan was also questioned and later arrested.

Najib has so far pleaded not guilty to all counts against him and his trial is due to start next year.

His wife Rosmah Mansor, notorious for her vast collection of luxury clothes and jewellery, has also been arrested and charged with corruption.

The US Department of Justice, which is seeking to recover items allegedly bought with stolen 1MDB cash in America, estimates that $4.5 billion in total was looted from 1MDB.

The money was allegedly used to buy items ranging from a superyacht, to high-end real estate and rare artworks.

On Friday, former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was charged with 45 offences including money laundering and graft.

Ahmad Zahid leads the opposition as president of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the once-powerful party that ruled Malaysia for 60 years before being ousted in a shock general election defeat in May.

Ahmad Zahid was charged with 10 counts of criminal breach of trust and eight counts of abuse of power involving sums totalling 42 million ringgit ($10 million), state news agency Bernama said.

He was also charged with 27 counts of laundering about 72 million ringgit ($17.3 million).

He pleaded not guilty to all charges, Bernama said.

Ahmad Zahid, also the former home minister, was accused of using his position to receive bribes in exchange for helping companies win contracts for ministry projects, the news agency reported.

In one case, he was alleged to have accepted 6 million ringgit ($1.4 million) from a director of Datasonic Group Berhad that had secured a fiveyear government contract to supply 12.5 million electronic chips for Malaysian passports.

In another, prosecutors said Ahmad Zahid received 13.25 million ringgit, allegedly to assist a company secure projects awarded by My EG Services Sdn Bhd, a government service provider.

Ahmad Zahidi was also accused of misusing funds from his family-run charity foundation. Each of the 45 charges carries a jail term of up to 20 years, with fines of up to five times the value of the illegal transactions for the money laundering and abuse of power offences.

The scandal played a major part in persuading voters to oust Najib’s coalition at elections in May after six decades in power and elect a reformist alliance