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Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak arrives at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on August 10th.
Photo:
fazry ismail / epa-efe / rex / component / EPA / Shutterstock
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was arrested on Wednesday by anti-aircraft authorities in connection with the 1MDB financial scandal over the alleged receipt of more than $ 600 million from his personal bank account .
Authorities said Najib was being held at antigraft headquarters and will be transferred to court on Thursday to face several charges once approved by the Attorney General of Southeast Asia.
Mr Najib, who lost his job in a surprise election defeat in May, is already facing seven counts of abuse of power and money laundering following the scandal around 1Malaysia Development. Bhd. a target of investigations in several countries.
The new Malaysian government is seeking to recover billions of dollars that have been diverted from the fund. Bank records show that 2.6 billion ringgits ($ 681 million reported for the first time by the Wall Street Journal three years ago, $ 627 million now) went to Mr. Najib's personal accounts.
Mr. Najib denied any wrongdoing.
Write to Yantoultra Ngui at [email protected]
