KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s former prime minister, Najib Razak, will start his defence this week against corruption charges involving over US$500 million in alleged bribes linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal. Najib is also seeking to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.
The charges are connected to Tanore Finance Corp, a company that U.S. authorities have accused of facilitating the misappropriation of funds from 1MDB. Najib’s lead lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, emphasized that the defence team is now “more determined” than ever to challenge the case.
Additionally, on December 5, the Court of Appeal will consider Najib’s appeal against a lower court’s decision to reject his request for house arrest. This follows a ruling in July, where the court dismissed affidavits supporting his claim as inadmissible, labeling them as hearsay.
The 1MDB scandal, which involved the misappropriation of billions of dollars from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, has led to international investigations in the United States, Switzerland, and Singapore, where the stolen funds were allegedly laundered.
