KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was arrested Wednesday by antigraft authorities in connection with the 1MDB financial scandal over his alleged receipt of more than $600 million into his personal bank account.

The authorities said that Mr. Najib was being held at the antigraft agency’s headquarters and would be transferred to a court Thursday to face several charges once they are approved by the Southeast Asian country’s attorney general.

... </s> Kuala Lumpur: Charge sheets obtained by Fairfax Media reveal that former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak could spend up to 20 years in prison, pay $50 million or more in fines, and be subject to whipping over three charges involving the misuse of up to $19 million of his people's money.

Mr Razak is accused of using his position to "obtain for yourself" $14 million from a sovereign wealth fund, SRC International. The charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of up to five times the value of amount received, is one of three charges laid in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

The alleged corruption happened between August 2011 and February 2012, the charge says, when Najib, "at the Prime Minister's Office ... as a public officer, namely the Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Malaysia, used your position to obtain for yourself the sum of forty-two million ringgit".

He took the money, the charges allege, when he "participated in or involved yourself in decisions on behalf of the Malaysian government to give government guarantees for loans amounting to four billion ringgit ($1.34 billion)".

Two other charges allege that Najib committed "criminal breach of trust" in dealing with a further $5 million. These charges relate to his actions in five days over Christmas in 2014, and the months of February and March, 2015 respectively. </s> PUTRAJAYA: Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been arrested in relation to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) investigation, specifically involving RM2.6 billion (US$628 million) from the scandal-hit state fund which allegedly flowed into his personal bank accounts.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said in a statement on Wednesday (Sep 19) that Najib was taken into custody at 4.13pm at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya. 



He is expected to face charges under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act 2009 for alleged abuse of power. 



Najib will be taken to the Kuala Lumpur Sessions court on Thursday at 3pm.

READ: Former PM Najib Razak claims no knowledge of luxury yacht purchase with 1MDB funds



READ: Commentary: How the 1MDB scandal brought down a century-old Swiss bank

Najib has already been slapped with seven charges - three for criminal breach of trust, three for money laundering and one for abuse of power - which are tied to an alleged transfer of RM42 million into his personal account from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB.

SRC had been the initial focus of Malaysian investigators as all the suspicious transactions involving it went through Malaysian entities.



Najib's arrest on Wednesday, however, is seen as more significant as it relates to a central allegation in the long-running scandal - that huge sums from 1MDB went into his bank accounts before the 2013 election.



Charges to be filed on Thursday regarding the RM2.6 billion deposit would be the first which are not SRC related.



The MACC said that it will work together with the Royal Malaysia Police to record Najib’s statement before he is taken to court on Thursday.

“This is to aid police investigations under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001," the MACC added.

Last Monday, Najib released documents to support his claim that the controversial RM2.6 billion deposited into his bank account was a donation from Saudi royalty.

He added that he would reveal more details in future.

Najib has maintained his innocence and said his trial in February 2019 was the "best chance" for him to clear his name.

READ: 'This is a chance to clear my name': Former Malaysian PM Najib Razak maintains his innocence </s> KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was arrested on Tuesday afternoon (Jul 3) in relation to the probe into SRC International, a former unit of state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

He will be charged in court on Wednesday at 8.30am, the 1MDB task force investigating the scandal said in a statement, adding that Najib was arrested at his private residence in Kuala Lumpur.

Anti-corruption officers arrived at his house "in three to four unmarked cars", a senior security official familiar with the arrest told AFP.

He was then taken to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in Putrajaya where he will spend the night in lock-up.



Najib was being investigated over allegations that billions of dollars were looted from 1MDB, which he founded. SRC International was created in 2011 by Najib's government to pursue overseas investments in energy resources, and was a unit of 1MDB until it was moved to the finance ministry in 2012.



The probe into the multi-billion dollar scandal moved swiftly after the Pakatan Harapan coalition, led by Mahathir Mohamad, won the May 9 general election.

Later that same month, Najib was summoned to the MACC headquarters to explain a suspicious transfer of RM42 million (US$10.6 million) into his bank account.

Police also raided properties linked to Najib and seized truckloads of items that are alleged to have been obtained with 1MDB funds.

Both Najib and the fund have denied any wrongdoing.

​​​​​​​On Monday, the 1MDB special task force announced that more than 400 bank accounts involving RM1.1 billion of funds from individuals, political parties and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were frozen in relation to the probe. </s> Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak has been arrested and will face further charges of abuse of power over the looting of a state investment fund.

Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak has been arrested and will face further charges of abuse of power over the looting of a state investment fund.

The agency said in a statement that Najib was detained at its office over the transfer of 2.6 billion ringgit (£476 million) into his bank account.

It said Najib will be taken to court on Thursday to face several charges under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act.

Najib was earlier charged with multiple counts of criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering over the scandal at the 1MDB state fund, just months after his shocking electoral defeat.

He has pleaded not guilty and his trial is due to start next year.

Najib set up 1MDB when he took power in 2009 to promote economic development, but the fund amassed billions in debts and is being investigated in the US and several other countries for alleged cross-border embezzlement and money laundering.

Public anger over the 1MDB scandal led to the ouster of Najib’s long-ruling coalition in national polls on May 9 and ushered in the first change of power since independence from Britain in 1957.

The new government reopened investigations stifled under Najib’s rule and barred him and his wife from leaving the country.

Police also seized jewellery and hundreds of handbags and other valuables estimated at more than 1.1 billion ringgit (£207 million) from properties linked to Najib.

Police have said that investigations have shown that £739 million had been transferred to Najib’s bank account from three companies linked to 1MDB.

Najib, 65, has accused Malaysia’s new government under Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of seeking political vengeance and vowed to clear his name at his trial.

He has claimed the money was a political donation from Saudi Arabia’s royal family. </s> Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is scheduled to appear in court Thursday after being arrested and charged this week with transferring hundreds of millions of dollars from state funds into his personal bank accounts, according to the country’s anticorruption agency.

Najib was arrested Wednesday over a transfer of $681 million into his account from the country’s strategic investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) in 2013, according to Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Commission. He will face at least two dozen charges including under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act, according to the Associated Press, which covers abuse of power for personal “gratification.” Najib says the money was a political donation from Saudi royalty.

According to U.S. Justice Department prosecutors, Najib and his associates have looted an estimated $4.5 billion from 1MDB. Najib was arrested in July and charged with multiple counts of criminal breach of trust and corruption. He has also since been charged with money laundering. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, and a trail is expected to start next year.

Najib once appeared to be an unassailable force in Malaysian politics, but he was ousted in a dramatic electoral upset in May by an opposition coalition led by his former mentor, Mahathir Mohamad. Mahathir, now 93 years old, has made targeting corruption and reclaiming lost funds a key early focus of his administration.

Police raids on Najib’s properties shortly after the election yielded hundreds of pieces of jewelry, handbags and other luxury items estimated at more than $273 million, including $28.6 million in cash. Last month, Malaysian authorities recovered a $250 million yacht that prosecutors say was purchased by Jho Low, a 1MBD-linked financier. Jho Low’s current whereabouts are unknown, but he was charged in absentia last month with eight counts of money laundering, the New York reports. </s> Malaysian police have arrested the country's ex-prime minister, Najib Razak, who is now facing at least 21 charges related to more than $620 million in state money that wound up in his personal bank accounts.

Najib, 65, faces a variety of money-laundering charges, in addition to several charges of bribery and criminal breach of trust that were filed in July. He has pleaded not guilty in the case.

The money-laundering accusations are related to the so-called 1MDB scandal, drawing its name from the 1Malaysia Development Bhd government investment fund. Soon after Najib created the fund in 2009, it amassed billions of dollars in debt.

In addition to the money that was directed to Najib's accounts, billions more were siphoned off by other officials and their relatives, according to the U.S. Justice Department, which says at least $2.5 billion was laundered through shell companies – and used to buy luxury items and make investments in the U.S.

The DOJ described the purchases in July: "These assets allegedly included high-end real estate and hotel properties in New York and Los Angeles, a $35 million jet aircraft, works of art by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet, an interest in the music publishing rights of EMI Music and the production of the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street."

Police arrested Najib Wednesday afternoon on the order of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, which said the charges were related to 2.6 billion ringgit (about $628 million, at today's exchange rate) that was found in the prime minister's bank account.

After a court appearance on Thursday, Najib was granted bail. As he left the Kuala Lumpur High Court, he spoke to journalists.

"All the charges today will give me a chance to clear my name – that I am not a thief," the former prime minister said, according to The Star.

Najib said the facts would show he "returned a large sum of money" right after he lost the national election this past spring.

As NPR reported in July, "Even though Najib has denied wrongdoing, the scandal played a role in unseating him as prime minister in May's shock election that also saw the ousting of Malaysia's ruling party of more than 61 years."

Najib's upset triggered a rapid response by authorities that were widely reported to have been prevented from acting against the prime minister while he was in charge. Days after the loss, police "carried out a pre-dawn raid at one of his residences, confiscating dozens of suitcases containing cash, jewelry and hundreds of designer bags," as NPR's Scott Neuman reported.

Malaysia is currently led by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the country's previous long-time leader who, now in his 90s, returned to the post after Najib's political party lost power.

The U.S. Justice Department is pursuing more than $1 billion in assets related to "an international conspiracy to launder funds misappropriated from" the Malaysian investment fund. </s> KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Detained former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will face at least two dozen fresh charges of abuse of power and money laundering Thursday over the multimillion-dollar looting of a state investment fund, police and the anti-graft agency said.

Najib is expected in court later in the day after police took custody of him from the anti-graft agency, which detained Najib on Wednesday over the alleged transfer of $681 million into his bank account. Najib has called the case political vengeance.

The 21 charges prepared against him involve receiving, using and transferring of illicit funds, national deputy police chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim said in a statement.

In this May 22, 2018, file photo, former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, center, arrives at Anti-Corruption Agency for questioning in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Malaysia's anti-graft agency says it has arrested former Najib over the multimillion-dollar looting of a state investment fund and that he will face further charges in court. The agency says Najib was detained at its office on Wednesday, Sept. 14, and will be taken to court on Thursday to face the charges. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

The anti-graft agency on Wednesday separately said Najib will face several charges under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act. It didn't give details, but the section deals with the abuse of power.

Najib has earlier been charged with multiple counts of criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering over the scandal at the 1MDB fund, just months after his shocking electoral defeat. He has pleaded not guilty and his trial is due to start next year.

Najib set up 1MDB when he took power in 2009 to promote economic development, but the fund amassed billions in debts and is being investigated in the U.S. and several other countries for alleged cross-border embezzlement and money laundering.

Public anger over the 1MDB scandal led to the stunning ouster of Najib's long-ruling coalition in May 9 polls and ushered in the first change of power since Malaysia's independence from Britain in 1957.

The new government reopened investigations stifled under Najib's rule and barred him and his wife from leaving the country. Police also seized jewelry and hundreds of handbags and other valuables estimated at more than 1.1 billion ringgit ($273 million) from properties linked to Najib.

Police have said that investigations have shown that $972 million had been transferred to Najib's bank account from three companies linked to 1MDB.

Najib, 65, has accused Malaysia's new government under Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of seeking political vengeance and vowed to clear his name at his trial. He has claimed the money was a political donation from Saudi Arabia's royal family. </s> KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — Prominent lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah is representing Datuk Seri Najib Razak today in the latter’s high profile case believed to be over funds misappropriated from former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd.

Najib is currently sitting in the dock in a packed courtroom in Kuala Lumpur, where the former prime minister is expected to be charged.

Prior to this, it was not known who will represent Najib who has already parted ways with two separate legal teams.

In the prosecution initiated about two months after Najib’s Barisan Nasional coalition lost federal power, new Attorney General (AG) Tommy Thomas is the lead prosecutor and is accompanied today by 11 deputies.

Lawyers representing Najib's wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, have requested permission to hold a watching brief of the trial.

Yesterday, state news agency Bernama reported that Najib is expected to be charged with over 10 counts of criminal breach of trust in relation to SRC International.

Under Section 409 of the Penal Code which covers the offence of criminal breach of trust by a public servant over property he is entrusted with or have control over, the penalty is a jail term of between two years and 20 years and whipping and fine.

The government’s special taskforce for the 1MDB scandal yesterday announced that Najib was arrested at his private residence at 2.35pm in relation to former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd and would be charged this morning in Kuala Lumpur.

On July 2, 2015, Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that investigators probing state investment firm 1MDB had found US$681 million (RM2.6 billion) deposited in Najib’s personal bank accounts just before the 13th general election, with RM42 million believed to have originated from SRC International.

In 2016, then-AG Tan Sri Apandi Ali cleared Najib of wrongdoing, claiming that the RM2.6 billion was a personal donation from the Saudi royal family and that Najib had alleged returned US$620 million to the Saudi royalty in August 2013.

Apandi had then said he had also found Najib committed no wrongdoing over the RM42 million deposited by SRC International into Najib’s bank account.

MORE TO COME
Former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, is arrested in connection with the allegation that RM2.6 billion (US$681 million when first reported three years ago) went into his personal bank accounts. New charges are, once approved, due to be filed tomorrow.