Daily US Times: Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been found guilty of all seven charges in the first of several multi-million dollar corruption trials.
He had pleaded not guilty to the charges of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering.
The case against Najib, PM from 2009 to 2018, was widely seen as a test of Malaysia’s anti-corruption efforts.
The 1MDB scandal around a state-owned wealth fund in Malaysia has uncovered a global web of corruption and fraud.
The corruption scandal shockwaves through Malaysia’s political establishment, leading to the toppling of Najib’s UMNO party from power, which had governed the country for 61 years since it gained independence.
The former prime minister could now face decades in jail – but he is expected to remain out of prison until appeals are exhausted.
In the Kuala Lumpur High Court, Judge Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali said: “After considering all evidence in this trial, I find that the prosecution has successfully proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Ahead of the hearing, Najib said he would fight on until the end. He also vowed to appeal against any guilty verdicts against him. In a statement on Facebook, he wrote: “This is my chance to clear my name.”
What were the accusations?
Tuesday’s verdicts centred on 42 million ringgit, equivalent to $10m transferred from the fund to the then-prime minister’s private accounts.
Najib Razak denies all wrongdoing and says he was misled by financial advisers – particularly fugitive financier Jho Low.
Jho Low has been charged in both in Malaysia and the US, but also maintains his innocence.
Najib’s defence team argued he was led to believe the funds in his accounts were donated by the royal family of Saudi Arab – rather than misappropriated from the state fund.
The charges carry as much as 15 to 20 years in prison each.
What is the 1MDB scandal?
The scandal centres around the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a sovereign wealth fund set up in 2009, when Mr Razak was prime minister.
Sovereign wealth funds are government-owned investment funds that are used to boost a country’s economic development. Built with state earnings, such as revenues from exports and oil resources, they have extraordinary flows of cash to invest and potentially enormous international clout.
Questions were raised in 2015 around 1MBD’s activities after it missed payments owed to banks and bondholders.
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