KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak was hit with new charges Wednesday linked to a multi-billion-dollar financial scandal that contributed to his shock election defeat in May.
Appearing at a court in Kuala Lumpur, Najib was charged with three counts of money-laundering over claims he pocketed 42 million ringgit ($10.3 million) from a former unit of scandal-hit sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.
These are in addition to the charges he faced last month after he was first arrested — three for criminal breach of trust and a separate count that he abused his position to take the money.
The 65-year-old, who is free on bail, has denied all the charges.
Malaysia’s new government is probing allegations that billions of dollars were looted from 1MDB, which was set up and overseen by Najib, in an audacious fraud that spanned the globe.
Allegations of massive corruption were a major factor behind the electoral earthquake in May that toppled Najib’s long-ruling coalition and ushered in a reformist alliance headed by his 93-year-old former mentor Mahathir Mohamad.
In a packed courtroom, the three new charges were read out to Najib. Asked if he understood them, Najib — dressed in a dark blue suit and looking tired — said he did.
His case was transferred to another court, where he entered not guilty pleas, meaning he will stand trial. Trial dates will be fixed on Friday, the judge said.
As he left court, a handful of supporters shouted “long live Najib” while his lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said the toppled leader believed the case was driven by politics.
“I am confident of a fair trial for my client, but my client thinks this is a political prosecution,” he told reporters.
Najib is facing a long time behind bars if found guilty — the money-laundering charges carry maximum jail terms of 15 years each, while the other four charges carry sentences of 20 years each.
The money-laundering charges allege 42 million ringgit stemming from illegal activities was transferred to Najib’s bank accounts between December 2014 and February 2015.
All the charges relate to fund transfers from SRC International, an energy company that was originally a subsidiary of 1MDB.
The sums involved are just a fraction of the $681 million that was mysteriously transferred to Najib’s personal bank accounts several years ago, sparking uproar in Malaysia.
The then attorney general — who had ties to Najib’s party — cleared the leader of wrongdoing, and said that the money had been a donation from the Saudi royal family.
Najib, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and his allies are accused of plundering billions of dollars from 1MDB to buy everything from US real estate to artworks.
The US Department of Justice, which is seeking to recover items allegedly bought with stolen 1MDB cash in America, estimates that $4.5 billion in total was looted from the fund.
Following Najib’s election loss, police seized a vast trove of items — including expensive handbags and jewelry — from properties linked to him with an estimated value of up to $273 million.
Investigations into 1MDB have been moving swiftly. On Tuesday, a luxury yacht allegedly paid for with about $250 million stolen from 1MDB arrived outside Kuala Lumpur after being handed over by Indonesian authorities, who impounded it following a DoJ request.
The 300-foot (90-meter) Equanimity, kitted out with a pool and helicopter landing pad, was allegedly bought by playboy financier Jho Low, a friend of Najib’s family who was said to exert great influence over 1MDB.
Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor led a life of luxury, allegedly funded by stolen public money, that came to symbolize the rot in an elite that had ruled the country uninterrupted since Malaysia’s independence from Britain in 1957.
jsm-sr/kaf
Malaysian ex-PM Najib charged with money-laundering
Malaysian ex-PM Najib charged with money-laundering
- Malaysia’s former PM Najib Razak hit with new charges linked to a multi-billion-dollar financial scandal
- Malaysia’s new government is probing allegations that billions of dollars were looted from 1MDB
Eight killed as protesters storm US Consulate in Karachi after Iran confirms Khamenei killed
- Protesters smashed doors, set fire to property as police used tear gas to disperse crowds
- Protests spread to Shiite-majority areas of Gilgit-Baltistan, UN office torched, curfew imposed
ISLAMABAD: At least eight people were killed in clashes near the US Consulate in Karachi on Sunday, the Edhi Foundation said, as protests erupted across parts of Pakistan following Iran’s confirmation that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint US–Israeli strikes.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the consulate on Sunday afternoon, with some attempting to storm the compound and vandalizing property, according to footage circulating on social media and international news reports.
Videos showed protesters armed with sticks smashing doors and windows. Separate footage appeared to show property inside the consulate premises set on fire. International media outlets reported that police used tear gas and baton charges to disperse the crowd.
“The number of people killed during the firing and unrest near the American Consulate on Mai Kolachi Road has risen to eight,” the Edhi Foundation, a major charity and rescue organization, said in a statement.
Sindh Home Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar directed authorities to strengthen security around sensitive installations as unrest intensified.
“No one will be allowed to take the law into their own hands,” Lanjar said in a statement issued by his office.
He added that law enforcement agencies were fully alert and monitoring the situation, and vowed that action would be taken in accordance with the law against those disturbing public order.
The violence came hours after Iranian authorities confirmed Khamenei was killed in coordinated strikes carried out by the United States and Israel, dramatically escalating tensions in the Middle East and triggering protests in several countries.
PROTESTS SPREAD
Demonstrations were also reported in Skardu, in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, where hundreds of people staged a sit-in on a main road to protest Khamenei’s killing.
Shabbir Mir, spokesperson for the Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister, told Arab News that a United Nations office in the district had been set on fire.
“The protesters have torched an UN office in Skardu,” Mir confirmed.
Gilgit-Baltistan Police announced on its official Facebook page that a curfew had been imposed in the predominantly Shiite district.
The unrest in Pakistan follows a sharp escalation in the Middle East after the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes in Iran on Saturday.
According to US officials, the operation targeted Revolutionary Guard command facilities, air defense systems, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields. The US military said it suffered no casualties and reported minimal damage to its bases despite what it described as “hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks.”
Iran retaliated by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and targeting US military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Israeli ally UAE said its air defense systems intercepted dozens of Iranian missiles and drones, but debris from the interceptions caused material damage in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and at least one civilian, including a Pakistani national, was killed.
The UAE government condemned the strikes as a “blatant violation of national sovereignty and international law,” and issued rare emergency alerts urging residents to seek shelter, underscoring how the conflict has rippled far beyond Iran’s borders.
The Israeli military said dozens of Iranian missiles were fired toward Israeli territory, many of which were intercepted. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said a woman in the Tel Aviv area died after being wounded in a missile strike.
