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>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>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>Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was charged with corruption offenses linked with the scandal-hit state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), at a court in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday morning, July 4. The politician faces three counts of criminal breach of trust and one abuse of power. He was arrested at his private residence on Tuesday afternoon and spent the night in detention. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Najib pleaded not guilty and was granted bail of almost 250,000 USD. This video from July 4 shows Najib on his arrival at the court house escorted by police officers as the media scrum gathers round. For three years, Najib was dogged by allegations that funds from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund were siphoned off. Najib has consistently denied any wrongdoing. In mid-May, one week after he lost the elections, Malaysian police raided Kuala Lumpur properties linked to him, including his family home, seizing cash, hundreds of designer handbags and other luxury goods. Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, have also been questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission as part of the graft probe. Credit: Villasha via Storyful

Former Prime Minister of Malaysia Arrives in Court to Face Graft Charges 0:31

MALAYSIA’S toppled leader Najib Razak has been arrested and will be charged over allegations that $628 million linked to state investment fund 1MDB ended up in his personal bank accounts, officials said.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission said in a statement that it had detained Najib as part of its investigations into the fund and “the entry of 2.6 billion ringgit ($628 million) into his personal account”.

Allegations that huge sums were looted from the investment vehicle by Najib and his cronies were a major factor in the shock defeat of his long-ruling coalition at elections in May to a reformist alliance headed by Mahathir Mohamad.

Since losing power, Najib has already been arrested and hit with seven charges related to claims he pocketed some $10 million from a former unit of 1MDB.

However his arrest today related directly to one of the most damaging allegations in the long-running scandal — that huge sums from the fund flowed into his bank accounts ahead of a hotly contested election in 2013.

When the allegations surfaced in 2015, they dramatically ratcheted up the scandal surrounding Najib and his inner circle.

The attorney-general later cleared him of any wrongdoing, saying the money was a personal donation from the Saudi royal family.

Najib will appear in court Thursday afternoon to be charged over the allegations, the anti-corruption commission said.</s>KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s anti-graft agency says it has arrested former leader Najib Razak and he will face further charges in court.</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>KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s detained former Prime Minister Najib Razak will face at least two dozen fresh charges of abuse of power and money laundering over the multimillion-dollar looting of a state investment fund, police and the anti-graft agency said Thursday.

Najib was detained by the anti-graft agency Wednesday over the transfer of $681 million into his bank account and was expected in court later Thursday. Najib, who has since been transferred into police custody, has called the case political vengeance.

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

Najib will also face several charges under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act, according to the anti-graft agency. It didn’t give details, but the section deals with the abuse of power.

Najib was earlier 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.

The 1MDB scandal first broke in 2015 when leaked documents showed that $681 million was transferred into Najib’s bank account, leading to massive street rallies calling on him to resign. Najib fired critics in his government, including a deputy prime minister and the attorney-general, and muzzled the media to try to survive the fallout.

A new attorney-general cleared Najib in January 2016, saying it was a political donation from Saudi Arabia’s royal family and most of it had been returned — an explanation that was met with widespread skepticism.

U.S investigators say Najib’s associates stole and laundered $4.5 billion from the fund, some of which landed in Najib’s bank account. Public anger over the 1MDB scandal eventually led to the 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 investigations show 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.</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>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>The ousted Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak, has been arrested and will be charged over allegations that $628m linked to state investment fund 1MDB ended up in his personal bank accounts, officials said.

Najib will appear in court on Thursday afternoon where he faces several charges related to abuse of power, the anti-corruption commission said.

Allegations that Najib and his cronies looted huge sums from the investment vehicle were a major factor in the shock defeat of his long-ruling coalition in elections in May, at the hands of a reformist alliance headed by Mahathir Mohamad.

Mahathir, 93, in his second stint as premier after coming out of retirement to take on his one-time protege Najib, has reopened probes into 1MDB that were shut down by the former government, and vowed to bring Najib to justice.

Since losing power, Najib has already been hit with seven charges related to claims he pocketed some $10m from a former unit of 1MDB.

However his arrest Wednesday was more significant as it related to a central allegation in the long-running scandal – that huge sums from the fund flowed into his bank accounts before the country’s 2013 election.

The Malaysian anti-corruption commission said in a statement that it had detained Najib as part of its investigations into the fund and “the entry of 2.6bn ringgit ($628m) into his personal account”.

James Chin, a Malaysia expert from the University of Tasmania, said Najib’s current arrest was “much more significant” than his previous one.

“I think the Malaysian people will be very, very happy. There were complaints that the government was not moving fast enough on 1MDB,” he said.

When reports about the bank transfers surfaced in 2015, they represented a turning point in the 1MDB scandal and dramatically raised pressure on Najib and his inner circle.

The attorney-general later cleared Najib of any wrongdoing, saying the money was a personal donation from the Saudi royal family, and closed down domestic investigations.

But allegations related to wrongdoing at 1MDB continued to multiply and the leader lurched sharply to the right.

He sacked critics in government, jailed political opponents and introduced increasingly authoritarian laws that analysts said were aimed at silencing any criticism to his rule.

Analysts thought Najib’s Barisan Nasional coalition, which had ruled Malaysia uninterrupted since independence from Britain in 1957, could never be beaten. But Mahathir capitalised on anger at the 1MDB scandal, and disillusionment at race-based politics in the multi-ethnic country, to push them from power.

Najib, his family and cronies were accused of using money stolen from 1MDB to buy everything from high-end real estate in the United States to pricey artworks. He and his luxury-loving wife Rosman Mansor became figures of hatred.
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.