Najib’s brother among 80 fined over 1MDB payments

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s anti-graft agency yesterday ordered 80 people and groups to pay fines totalling about US$100 million (3 billion baht) for allegedly receiving funds from the 1MDB state investment fund.

Former prime minister Najib Razak’s brother Nazir Razak, who heads the country’s second-largest bank, was among those listed. So was a former deputy minister, Ahmad Maslan, and the former chief of the federal land development authority, Shahrir Samad. Branches of Mr Najib’s party and others in the former ruling coalition were also listed, as were 23 companies.

Mr Najib is facing 42 charges of corruption, abuse of power and money laundering in five separate criminal cases linked to the multibillion-dollar looting of 1MDB.

Public anger over the alleged graft contributed to a surprise defeat of Mr Najib’s long-ruling coalition in a May 2018 election. Mr Najib denies wrongdoing and has accused Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s government of seeking political vengeance.

The head of the Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission, Latheefa Koya, told reporters the fines totalled about 420 million Malaysian ringgit.

The money belongs to the Malaysian public, she said.

Mr Najib set up 1MDB to promote economic development when he took power in 2009, but the fund amassed billions in debts and is being investigated in the US and several other countries for alleged cross-border embezzlement and money laundering.

US investigators say more than $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB by associates of Mr Najib between 2009 and 2014, including the money that landed in Mr Najib’s bank accounts. They say the illgotten gains were laundered through bank accounts in the US and other countries to finance Hollywood films and buy hotels, a luxury yacht, artworks, jewellery and other extravagances.

Dr Mahathir’s government reopened investigations stifled under Mr Najib and barred him and his wife from leaving the country. Police also seized valuables estimated at more than 1.1 billion ringgit from properties linked to Mr Najib.