Malaysia’s former premier on trial over fund’s missing £3.4bn
NAJIB RAZAK, Malaysia’s former leader, went on trial yesterday in connection with a multi-billion-dollar fraud.
The 65-year-old faced the first of several trials over his alleged involvement in the looting of 1MDB, a sovereign wealth fund established to develop the economy of the south east Asian nation.
The former prime minister is accused with others of plundering billions of dollars from the fund, spending it on everything from high-end real estate to artworks and a luxury yacht.
He had been tipped to win another term in office last year and extend his coalition’s six-decade grip on power but, in a wave of public anger over the scandal, he was soundly defeated by his former boss, Mahathir Mohamad.
In the months that followed, oncedormant investigations into the controversy were relaunched and Mr Najib was served with dozens of corruption charges linked to plundering the fund. A small crowd of supporters prayed with him outside the Kuala Lumpur court as he arrived for the trial.
Inside, his defence team made an 11th-hour bid to delay proceedings but the judge overruled them. Mr Najib denied seven charges of corruption and money-laundering over claims he pocketed 42 million ringgit (£7.8 million) from SRC International, a former 1MDB unit.
It is only a fraction of the money allegedly removed from the fund. Hundreds of millions of dollars are said to have ended up in his accounts alone. He has consistently denied wrongdoing. Some of his many co-suspects have also been charged but Jho Low, the playboy financier and alleged mastermind behind the scandal, is still at large.
Fahmi Reza, a graphic artist who was once jailed for depicting Mr Najib in a caricature as a sinister clown, said it was the ex-premier’s turn to “face justice”. He wrote on Twitter: “Today, it is your turn to be dragged here to face justice – for the crime of corruption and abuse of power during your reign.”
Mr Najib’s mentor-turned-nemesis Mr Mahathir, now 93 years old and in his second stint in office, has pledged to bring the younger man to justice and bring back the huge sums of cash allegedly stolen from 1MDB. The US justice department, investigating claims that some of the money was laundered in America, says about $4.5 billion (£3.4billion) was looted from 1MDB.
Malaysia has accused the Wall Street bankers Goldman Sachs and former employees of involvement in the 1MDB scandal. The bank denies the charges.