(Aug 8): Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Najib Razak was charged under the anti-money laundering act in a case linked to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal, adding to his earlier charges of corruption and breach of trust.
Najib was served with three counts of money laundering charges related to SRC International Sdn, a former unit of state fund 1MDB. He has pleaded not guilty to earlier charges of corruption and criminal breach of trust, also linked to SRC, that were served on July 4.
The indictment, the first for a former premier of Malaysia, comes after the country revived domestic investigations into the state fund following Najib’s fall from power in May. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is seeking to recover US$4.5 billion ($6.14 billion) of funds potentially lost through 1MDB, whose full name is 1Malaysia Development Berhad, including by seizing a US$250-million yacht and seeking to recoup fees from Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
The previous charges against Najib 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 4 billion ringgit ($1.34 billion) of funds belonging to SRC International and that he committed a breach of trust on 27 million ringgit. Over the same period he’s alleged to have committed a second breach of trust on 5 million ringgit. And from Feb 10 to Mar 2, 2015, he committed a third breach of trust on 10 million ringgit, the charges note.
In July, the court also heard Najib allegedly used his position to gain gratification of 42 million ringgit for himself by granting a government guarantee on 4 billion ringgit of loans from Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) to SRC between Aug. 17, 2011 and Feb. 8, 2012.
Najib’s lawyers are expected to file a written request for a permanent gag order during the case management on Wednesday, which would institute a ban on public statements commenting on the merits of the case in an unfair or prejudiced manner.
