Najib hit with 25 charges

Reader::Malaysia

Najib Razek, Malaysia’s former prime minister, has been charged with 21 counts of money laundering, in a case linked to a multi-million dollar corruption scandal.

He was charged in cout on Thursday in relation to the alleged transfer of 556m from state fund 1MDB into his personal bank account. He was also charged with four counts of abuse of power.

Mr Najib has pleaded not guilty to all 25 charges. The latest charges come on top of three counts of money of laundering levelled against him in August.

Najib Razek, members of his family and allies are accused of embezzling huge sums allegedly used to buy everything from artwork to high-end real estate around the globe.

The allegation played a central role in his defeat in an election that was eventually won by his former mentor and lon-time PM, 9-year old Mahathir Mohamad.

1MDB, set up by Mr Najib in 2009, was meant to turn the capital, Kuala Lampur, into a financial hub and boost the economy through strategic investment.

Instead, it started to attract negative attention in early 2015 after it missed payment for some of the 11 billion it owed to bank and bondholders.

Then the Wall Street Journal reported it had seen a paper trail that allegedly traced close to 700 million from the fund to Mr Najib’s persona bank accounts.

Category : Asia