Malaysian ex-PM Najib ordered to enter defense in latest 1MDB trial

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A Malaysian court ruled on Wednesday that jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak will have to defend himself against charges of abuse of power and money laundering linked to scandal-plagued sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.

Presiding Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah said the prosecution successfully established that Najib had to answer for four counts of abuse of power related to alleged bribes worth 2.27 billion ringgit ($517 million) and 21 counts of money laundering.

“After a maximum evaluation of the evidence, I conclude that the prosecution has proven the ingredients of the indictment,” Sequerah told the court.

Six years after he was first charged, Najib stood in court on Wednesday, decked out in a navy blue suit, and appeared calm after hearing the decision.

The 71-year-old told the court he would defend his defense at the trial, which is due to start on December 2.

Najib’s lead lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said his client was “extremely disappointed” by the court’s decision because the defense had presented arguments that they believed would warrant serious consideration.

“If you were to ask me what we feel? Very disappointed,” he told reporters outside the court complex on Wednesday.

“But we are not giving up. We are going to fight this case and we are more determined because of today’s decision.”

Each charge of abuse of power is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to five times the amount of the bribe.

Each money laundering charge carries a fine of up to 5 million ringgit and a prison sentence of up to five years, or both.

The hearing took place just days after Najib apologized for allowing the 1MDB scandal to take place during his tenure, but claimed he had no knowledge of illegal transfers from the now-defunct sovereign wealth fund.

“It pains me every day to know that the 1MDB debacle took place under my watch as Finance Minister and Prime Minister,” Najib wrote last Thursday in a statement read by his son Mohamad Nizar.

“For this, I would like to apologize unreservedly to the Malaysian people.”

Allegations that billions of dollars were stolen from investment vehicle 1MDB and used to buy everything from a superyacht to works of art played a major role in pushing voters to oust Najib and the long-ruling United Malays National Organization party in the 2018 elections .

The 1MDB scandal sparked investigations in the United States, Switzerland and Singapore, whose financial systems were believed to have been used to launder the money.

The current case is one of five filed against Najib in 2018 and involves Tanore Finance Corp, which US authorities say was used to siphon money from 1MDB.

Najib began serving a 12-year prison sentence in August 2022 for crimes related to the misuse of public funds from former 1MDB unit SRC International. The sentence was later halved by Malaysia’s pardon board.

His trial against manipulation of the 1MDB audit ended with an acquittal at the Supreme Court in 2023.

Najib, the British-educated son of one of Malaysia’s founding fathers, still has an ongoing criminal breach of trust case involving 6.6 billion ringgit, as well as a money laundering trial involving 27 million ringgit.

The US Department of Justice has said that more than $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB by senior fund officials and their associates between 2009 and 2015.

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