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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was brought to court on Wednesday with a breach of a multi-billion-dollar graft scandal.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges. "I claim trial," he said in a barely audible voice as he stood in the dock at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur. A judge set lease at 1 million ringgit in cash ($ 250,000) and ordered Najib to be awarded to him.
The patrician and the luxury-loving Najib, wearing a suit and a tie, appeared calm and smiled as he was escorted into the court complex. 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 US investigators say was looted of trillion by associates of Najib
Najib was charged with misappropriation of power under Malaysia's anti-corruption law. Each charge has a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Whipping is also a penalty for Najib goal
Malaysia's new attorney general, Tommy Thomas, who is heading the prosecution, said the 1MBD case has attracted global attention and "brought shame to the country." Najib's laywer Abdullah Muhammad Shafee protested the comment calling it "nonsense" and "coffeeshop talk."
Najib, 64, has accused Malaysia's new government of seeking "political revenge."
At a news conference after the hearing, Najib said a trial was "the best chance for me to clear my name after all the accusations." It is set to start Feb.
New Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad Reopened Investigations into 1MDB
Najib set up 1MDB when he took power in 2009 but the fund amassed billions in
The attorney-general's case, 1965, 1965 The $ 10 million that Najib allegedly received via SRC was a snap for approving government guarantees of totaling 4 billion ringgit loans (nearly $ 1 trillion) in 2011 and 2012 that were noticeably became part of the ransacking underway at 1MDB.
Police also $ 1.1 trillion ringgit ($ 272 million) from properties linked to Najib
US investigators say $ 4.5 billion was stolen and laundered from 1MDB by Najib's associates, including some $ 700 million that landed in Najib's bank account. While in power, Najib said the $ 700 million was a donation from the royal royal family.
Najib's laywer Muhammad asked for the case to be expedited.
Najib "is anxious to clear his name," he told the High Court . Bridget Welsh, a Southeast Asia expert at John Cabot University in Rome, said Najib's arrest was the "inevitable outcome" after he lost power.
"It shows the resolve of
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