Malaysia's former Prime Minister Najib Razak (in suit) (Photo: EPA/VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Malaysia'sformer Prime Minister Najib Razak and an ally on October 25 were charged with allegedlylooting USD 1.6 billion of public money, the latest accusations against him inthe case associated with the scandal-plagued 1Malaysia Development Berhad(1MDB) fund.
Najib was jointly chargedin a court in Kuala Lumpur with ex-senior finance ministry official,Mohamad Irwan Serigar Abdullah, with six counts of criminal breach of trust.But they denied all the charges.
Thecharges involved 6.6 billion ringgit (1.6 billion USD) of public money from the1MDB and allegedly took place between December 2016 and December 2017. Eachcharge is punishable by up to 20 years in jail.
Local media reported that some of the money was used to pay debts owedby 1MDB to Abu Dhabi sovereignwealth fund IPIC. The Malaysian state investment fund slid into a massive debthole as huge sums of money were allegedly stolen and used to buy everythingfrom a super-yacht, to high-end real estate and pricey artworks.
Anotherkey Najib ally, former spy chief Hasanah Abdul Hamid,is expected to be charged in court later the same day. The former primeminister's wife, Rosmah Mansor, and the new leader of his party, the United Malays National Organisation(UMNO), Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, have also been arrested and charged.
Najibhas now been hit with 38 charges since losing power, most of them related toallegations that he and his cronies plundered vast sums from the 1MDB.According to theMalaysian authorities, the total market value of luxury watches, jewellery,high-end handbags, and cash seized at properties linked to Najib amounted to372 million USD.
Najib founded the 1MDB investmentfund in 2009, supposedly to serve Malaysia’s development through globalpartnerships and foreign direct investment. However, it became the centre of amoney laundering scandal, allegedly causing losses of up to 3.7 billion USD andleading to probes into the financial markets in several countries such as theUS, Switzerland, Singapore, Malaysia, and China.
Najib will go on trial on February12, 2019. The trial will run from February 12 to March 29, 2019. If convicted,he will face multi-year prison sentences.-VNA
VNA
