Ex-Malaysia leader says innocent of corruption
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s former leader Najib Razak pleaded innocent to charges of corruption and criminal breach of trust in connection with a multibillion-dollar scandal surrounding state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
Appearing in the High Court today, Najib faces three counts of criminal breach of trust, which carry a punishment of up to 20 years in jail along with a possible fine. In addition, he faces one charge under the anti-corruption act, which calls for a prison sentence of up to 20 years and a fine of no less than five times the value of funds siphoned. Najib is seeking a trial for all charges.
While the breach of trust charges carry punishments that include whipping — usually done with strokes of a rattan cane — Najib may be exempted for being more than 50 years old.
The charges allege that between Dec. 24 to Dec. 29, 2014, at AmIslamic Bank Bhd., Najib as prime minister and finance minister was given the mandate to manage $989 million of funds belonging to SRC International Sdn. and that he committed a breach of trust on $6.6 million. Over the same period he’s alleged to have committed a second breach of trust on $1.2 million. And from Feb. 10 to March 2, 2015, he committed a third breach of trust on $2.4 million, the charges note.
The court also heard that Najib is accused of using his position to gain gratification of $10.3 million for himself by granting a government guarantee on $989 million of loans from Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) to SRC International between Aug. 17, 2011, and Feb. 8, 2012.
Judge Zainal Abidin Kamarudin granted a request from Malaysia’s Attorney General Tommy Thomas to move the case to the country’s High Court earlier today.
In a video posted on Najib’s official Twitter account Tuesday night, he apologized to the nation while saying not all of the accusations against him are true and that he’d defend himself. Invoking the afterlife, the caption said: “I accept that today is the day my family and I face the world’s tribulation.”
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, whose coalition ousted Najib in May, has sought to recoup $4.5 billion potentially siphoned from 1MDB. A parliamentary committee in 2016 identified at least $4.2 billion in irregular transactions by the fund, with the U.S. Department of Justice saying some cash was used to purchase a 300-foot yacht, luxury homes, artwork, and stakes in several Hollywood films, including The Wolf of Wall Street.
Najib was arrested Tuesday, less than two months after a surprise election loss that toppled his party’s six-decade rule. His former government had previously cleared him of wrongdoing.
The scandal had cast a cloud over doing business in Malaysia and unnerved investors.