Ex-Malaysia official held in graft case

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia — Malaysia’s anti-graft agency said Thursday that it has detained former Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in a case linked to misappropriation of funds at a welfare group.

Zahid, who now heads the opposition Malay party, is the latest notable person after former Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife to face graft charges after the ouster of their coalition in May general elections.

The anti-graft agency said Zahid was detained at its office shortly after he was summoned as part of its probe into abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering at a welfare group. It said in a statement that Zahid will be taken to court today to face several charges under anti-corruption and anti-money-laundering laws.

The agency didn’t give further details, but it has questioned Zahid several times over allegations that funds in his family-run welfare group were used to pay credit-card bills belonging to him and his wife. He has reportedly said his office mistakenly used the foundation’s money to settle the bills.

Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, have been charged with multiple counts of corruption and money laundering linked to the multibillion-dollar looting of the 1MDB state investment fund that led to his coalition’s loss. The fund, set up by Najib, is being investigated in the U.S. and several other countries. They have both denied any wrongdoing, and Najib’s trial is to start next year.