A court said on Friday that the trial of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on corruption charges stemming from the large financial scandal that led to his shock election defeat will begin in February.
Najib, 65, will face trial for criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power in reference to billions of dollars allegedly looted from sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.
The former leader, who’s free on bail, has to this point faced seven charges, including three of cash laundering, brought on Wednesday over claims he obtained 42 million ringgit ($10.3 million) from the previous 1MDB unit.
These charges are along with charges he faced last month after his first arrest – three of criminal breach of trust and a separate allegation that he abused his position to gather money.
Najib denied all allegations.
Malaysia’s recent government, led by Najib’s 93-year-old former mentor Mahathir Mohamad, is investigating allegations of corruption involving 1MDB – created and overseen by Najib – in an audacious fraud that has spread world wide.
Supreme Court Justice Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali set trial dates for February 12-28 and March 4-29.
I’m confident that my client will receive a good trial, but my client believes that this can be a political prosecution
State prosecutors said they expect to call about 50 witnesses.
If found guilty, Najib faces a lengthy prison sentence – the cash laundering charges carry a maximum sentence of 15 years each, while the opposite 4 charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years each.
The money laundering accusation alleged that 42 million ringgit proceeds from illegal activities were transferred to Najib’s bank accounts between December 2014 and February 2015.
All fees relate to fund transfers from SRC International, an energy company that was originally a subsidiary of 1MDB.
The amounts in query are only a fraction of the $681 million that was mysteriously transferred to Najib’s personal bank accounts several years ago, causing confusion in Malaysia.
Najib, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and his allies are accused of using the looted money to purchase all the pieces from American real estate to artworks and a luxury yacht recently donated to Malaysia.
Najib’s lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said on Wednesday that the ousted leader believed the case was driven by political considerations.
“I’m confident that my client could have a good trial, but my client believes this can be a political prosecution,” Muhammad Shafee told reporters.
The US Department of Justice, which is attempting to get better items allegedly purchased in America with stolen 1MDB money, estimates that a complete of $4.5 billion was stolen from the fund.
After Najib’s election defeat in May, police confiscated an enormous amount of things – including expensive handbags and jewellery – from properties linked to him, with an estimated value of $273 million.
