Malaysian investigators have put former prime minister Najib Razak behind bars again for his alleged involvement in the 1MDB mega-corruption case. Najib is facing charges of funneling 2.6 billion ringgit (US$627.87 million) in state funds to his personal bank account.
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AFP/MOHD RASFAN
Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak (center) leaves the Duta Court in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 8, 2018. The toppled former Malaysian leader was arrested on Sept. 19 and will be charged over allegations of embezzling US$628 million linked to state investment fund 1MDB, officials said.
KUALA LUMPUR, WEDNESDAY – Malaysian law enforcement is closing in on former prime minister Najib Razak for his alleged involvement in the mega-corruption case involving state investment company 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). An indictment reading on Najib is scheduled for Thursday (20/9/2018) afternoon at a courthouse in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
On Thursday morning, will Najib face questioning about money laundering by a joint team of the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) and the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) at the MACC headquarters.
Apart from announcing the schedule for Najib’s questioning and trial, the MACC on Wednesday afternoon also announced that Najib would be detained. In a statement, the MACC said that Najib’s detainment and indictment this time around were related to the illicit transfer of 2.6 billion ringgit to his personal bank account. All of the money is alleged to have been linked to 1MDB.
Najib has repeatedly insisted that the money was a donation from the Saudi Arabian royal family. He said he had a document to support his claim. He posted a copy of the document on his social media account.
The MACC has refuted his claim. The commission said it had requested that the Saudi Arabian royal family show it their copy of the document. However, the royal family has been unable to present such a document.
The request to the Saudi Arabian royal family was lodged in 2015, when the 1MDB scandal first erupted. MACC investigators returned home from Saudi Arabia with nothing as they had failed to obtain the alleged supporting document that Najib claimed existed.
The MACC was prepared to take the case to court in 2015. However, MACC chief Shukri Abdul said at the time that he had been forced to drop the investigation after he and several witnesses received threats. Shukri then fled to the US (Kompas, 29/5/2018).
Shukri only returned to Malaysia after Najib and his party were defeated in the general election in May this year. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad reappointed Shukri as MACC chief and ordered him to reopen the 1MDB investigation.
Apart from the MACC, the 1MDB investigation also involves a task force created by the Malaysian government. The task force detained Najib for one night and took him to court for an indictment reading in July this year.
During the hearing, prosecutors charged Najib with abuse of power, accepting gratuities and money laundering. Each charge carried a maximum of 20 years in prison. The judges, however, released him from detention after he paid bail of 1 million ringgit.
In August, Najib was in court again and indicted on three charges on money laundering. He has also been charged with accepting misappropriated funds from SRC International, an energy subsidiary of 1MDB. The August indictment was the result of a MACC investigation. Najib was not detained as the judges ruled that the bail he paid in July was still in effect.
Now, Najib has returned to jail under a MACC order. There is no information on how many charges Najib will face in the hearing this Thursday afternoon.
First time
Malaysia expert James Chin of Australia’s University of Tasmania said that this round of detainment for Najib was important as this would be the first time Najib faced charges on stealing money from 1MDB. The two previous indictments on Najib had yet to link him directly to 1MDB. Previous indictments only linked Najib to subsidiaries of the investment company founded in 2009.
On several occasions, Shukri said that the SRC International money laundering case was easier to investigate. The misappropriated funds were circulated only in Malaysia and it was easier for investigators to follow the money. This was why the SRC International case went to court first.
Money reportedly embezzled from 1MDB was spread across many countries. The money was reportedly used, for instance, to purchase the Equanimity cruise ship worth Rp 3.5 trillion (US$235.93 million). The ship was seized by Indonesian law enforcement in waters near Bali and was handed over to Malaysia recently.
Investigators also said that Najib had used the money funneled from 1MDB and its subsidiaries to pay lawyers. Therefore, the MACC has also detained Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah. Shafee is alleged to have accepted 9.5 million ringgit from Najib and faces two separate money laundering charges. He is also accused of tax evasion.
