Ex-Malaysian prime minister guilty of money laundering, abuse of power
Malaysia’s former prime minister, Najib Razak, has been found guilty of corruption related to the multibillion-dollar plunder of state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
The country’s Supreme Court found Najib, 72, guilty on Friday of four abuse of power and 21 money laundering charges related to nearly 2.2 billion ringgit ($810 million) transferred from the 1MDB fund to his personal bank accounts.
Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, photo taken in October.Credit: access point
Najib’s defense team was expected to present their arguments before sentencing later on Friday.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing and maintained that the funds were a political donation from Saudi Arabia and that he was misled by rogue financiers led by Low Taek Jho. Low, thought to be the mastermind of the scandal, remains at large.
Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah said Najib’s claim of Saudi donations was “incredible”. He said the four letters purporting to come from the Saudi donor were fake and that the evidence clearly showed the funds came from 1MDB.
He rejected defense claims that Najib was an unwitting victim duped by former 1MDB officials and Low. The judge said witness statements pointed to an “undoubted link” between Najib and Low, who played a key role in the scandal and acted as a “proxy, conduit, intermediary and facilitator” for Najib at 1MDB.
The judge said Najib failed to take steps to verify the source of the huge funds and failed to take action against Low. Instead, Najib used the money despite its questionable origins and took steps to protect his position, including sacking the then attorney general and anti-corruption chief who investigated the case.
“The defendant was not a country bumpkin,” said Sequerah, who spent five hours reading the verdict. “Therefore, any attempt to portray the defendant as hopelessly ignorant of the evil going on around him will fail miserably.”
The decision marked a major turning point in one of the world’s biggest financial scandals, which has spread across global markets and triggered investigations in the United States and other countries.
