Former Malaysian Prime Minister and two former officials face new charges of corruption

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – The Malaysian anti-corruption agency announced on Wednesday that former Prime Minister Najib Razak, along with two former senior officials, will face further charges of abuse. trust.

The agency announced that Najib and former chief of the Treasury, Mohamad Irwan Serigar Abdullah, would be charged Thursday in "several cases of breach of trust related to the use of Malaysian public funds" . He did not give details, but the media said the charges were related to the multi-billion dollar looting of the 1MDB state investment fund.

Moreover, he said in a statement that Hasanah Abdul Hami, the former head of the now defunct foreign intelligence agency, would also be the subject of similar charges in a separate case.

The new Malaysian government has stepped up the lawsuit against Najib and other former officials for the 1MDB scandal and other alleged corruption cases since his staggering election victory last May, which led to the first change of power of the country since the independence of Britain in 1957.

The new charges against Najib will be in addition to the previous 32 counts of corruption, breach of trust and money laundering related to the 1MDB scandal that led to the removal of his coalition. His wife, Rosmah Mansor, has also been indicted separately for several counts of money laundering and tax evasion related to 1MDB. They both pleaded not guilty and the Najib trial is scheduled to begin next year.

The 1MDB fund, created by Najib, is currently under investigation in the United States and several other countries. US investigators said Najib's associates stole and laundered $ 4.5 billion from the fund between 2009 and 2014, part of it in Najib's bank account.

Former Najib MP Abdul Zahid Hamidi, who is now the opposition leader, has also been charged with multiple counts of corruption in a separate investigation into millions of dollars in corruption cases.

Najib has accused the government of seeking revenge against his family for his family, but Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad dismissed the charges, saying anyone convicted of misconduct will face the law.