[ad_1]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was brought to court on Wednesday with a breach of a multibillion dollar graft scandal
Najib, wearing a suit and a tie, appeared calm and smiled as he was escorted into the court complex with reporters.
He was arrested Tuesday by anti-graft officials over a suspicious transfer of 42 million ringgit ($ 10.4 million) in his bank accounts from SRC International, a unit of the 1MDB state investment fund that was investigated by Najib
one count of corruption. Each charge has a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Whipping is also a penalty Najib would be free because of his age.
The case against him will be sent to the High Court where Najib is expected to make his plea Wednesday.
Najib, 64, denies any wrongdoing and The New Government of Seeking "Political Revenge."
In a recorded video posted on social media after hours of arrest, Najib apologized to Malaysians but remained defiant
"As a normal human being, I am not perfect But I believe that the accusations against me and my family are not all true, "he said.
New Prime Minister Mohammad Mahathir reopened investigations into 1MDB that were stifled under Najib's rule.
Najib set up 1MDB when he took Power in 2009 but the fund ambaded trillions in debts and is being investigated in the US and several other countries.
Najib and his wife were questioned last month on the SRC case by the anti-graft agency the country . Also valued at $ 1.1 trillion ringgit ($ 272 million) from properties linked to Najib
U.S. investigators say $ 4.5 billion was stolen and laundered from 1MDB by Najib's badociates, including some $ 700 million that landed in Najib's bank account.
Bridget Welsh, a Southeast Asia expert at John Cabot University in Rome, said Najib's arrest was the "inevitable outcome "
" It has been done so judiciously so far and speaks to a need for reckoning for Malaysia and a key step toward a cleaner governance, " she said in an email.
Malaysia's new attorney general, Thomas Tommy, will head the prosecution in the case.
[ad_2]
Source link
