Malaysia’s former prime minister, Najib Razak, faces possible life imprisonment after 32 separate indictments were slapped on him. In the latest round of indictments against the 65-year-old, read out at a Kuala Lumpur court on Thursday, he was charged with abuse of power.
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AP PHOTO/YAM G-JUN
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak walks out of courtroom after a court hearing at Kuala Lumpur High Court in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018. Najib pleaded not guilty Thursday to 25 fresh charges of abuse of power and money laundering over the multimillion-dollar looting of a state investment fund.
KUALA LUMPUR, THURSDAY – Malaysia’s former prime minister, Najib Razak, faces possible life imprisonment after 32 separate indictments were slapped on him on Thursday (20/9/2018).
In the latest round of indictments against the 65-year-old, read out at a Kuala Lumpur court on Thursday, he was charged with abuse of power, accepting 2.28 billion ringgits (US$532.33 million) in gratuities and 21 separate money laundering charges involving 4.3 billion ringgits. All the gratuity and money laundering charges are linked to Malaysian state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). If found guilty, Najib faces 20 years in prison each for abuse of power and bribery and five years in prison for each of the money laundering charges.
Previously, Najib had been charged with abuse of power in three cases and with four cases of money laundering. The indictments were read separately throughout July and August this year. In two separate trials, Najib was charged with receiving gratuities and laundering 42 million ringgits stolen from SRC International, a 1MDB energy subsidiary.
For the Sept. 20 trial, Najib was detained before and after the indictment reading. However, he will be able to walk free once he pays at least 1 million ringgits (Rp 3.6 billion) of the 3.5-million-ringgit bail. The 1 million ringgits will have to be paid by Friday (21/9), with the rest to be paid by Sept. 28.
In the July trial, Najib was detained before he was brought to the court. He walked free after paying a 1-million-ringgit bail. He was not detained for the August trial after the panel of judges declared that the July bail was still in effect.
AFP/MOHD RASFAN
Former Malaysia\'s prime minister Najib Razak greets supporters after a court appearance in Kuala Lumpur on September 20, 2018. Najib was hit with 25 new charges of money laundering and abuse of power linked to the 1MDB mega-scandal on September 20, including allegations that hundreds of millions of dollars were transferred to his personal bank account.
More important
These latest indictments against Najib are seen as more important than all seven previous indictments, as prosecutors are now closing in on the core of the 1MDB scandal.
Prosecutors said Najib had abused his position as prime minister, finance minister and 1MDB leader to enrich himself with billions of ringgits between 2011 and 2014.
The gratuity and abuse-of-power indictments cited gratuities for Najib during the process to establish 1MDB. The money was reportedly funneled through a number of bank accounts. Tanore Corporation, a company cited in a separate investigation of the case by the US Department of Justice, is cited more than 10 times in Najib’s money-laundering indictment. A document leaked by Xavier Justo in 2015 also cited the company.
Justo is a former director at PetroSaudi, which is partnering with SRC International in energy ventures. The leaked document prompted investigations of the 1MDB case in several countries.
According to Justo’s document, as quoted by The Wall Street Journal and other media outlets, Tanore Finance has received $1.2 million from 1MDB bond sales. Bonds worth US$3 million were issued to fund the development of the 70-acre Tun Razak Exchange at Kuala Lumpur’s central business district.
AP PHOTO/YAM G-JUN
Former Prime Minister Najib Razak (left) shakes hands with his supporters as he leaves Kuala Lumpur High Court after a court hearing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018. Najib pleaded not guilty Thursday to 25 fresh charges of abuse of power and money laundering over the multimillion-dollar looting of a state investment fund.
The US Department of Justice said it had found no links between 1MDB and Tanore Finance. The company is reportedly owned by Low Tae Jho aka Jho Low aka Eric Tan, a Malaysian investment manager believed to have masterminded the 1MDB mega-corruption scheme.
Justo’s leaked document and several media reports cited the transfer of US$681 million to a figure merely referred to as “Malaysian Official 1”. Many believe the cryptic identifier refers to Najib.
Since news of the US$681-million transfer leaked, Najib has many times denied any wrongdoing on his part. He said he had received hundreds of millions of US dollars from the Saudi Arabian royal family for his services to the Islamic world.
On his social media account, Najib said the money was given by Saudi Arabian royalties to prevent any change of leadership in Malaysia.
After the indictment reading on Thursday, Najib told reporters: “The accusations against me that were read today give me the opportunity to clear my name and prove that I am not a crook.”
