Najib Razak , the former prime minister of Malaysia, who resigned two months ago, was arrested by anti-corruption officers against the backdrop of an investigation involving the theft of billions of dollars from the state investment fund.
As expected, the prime minister will appear in court on Wednesday morning and will be charged with more than 10 episodes of unlawful actions, reports the New York Times.
According to the government group studying the case of the 1MBR, Najib was arrested in connection with the results of the investigation in the company SRC International – the former subdivision of the 1MDB fund.
In late May, Razak was interrogated for five hours about how tens of millions of dollars of SRC International were on his private bank account. With regard to the 1MDB fund, established by the ex-prime minister in 2009, six countries are currently investigating. It is assumed that criminal and corruption money was laundered through this organization.
So, in the US prosecutors accused 64-year-old Nadjib Razak that he transferred to his personal bank account 731 million dollars from the state investment fund, which he controlled for years. The money stolen from the 1MDB fund was then spent on luxury goods, such as a pink diamond necklace worth $ 27.3 million, worn by the ex-premier’s wife, investigators said.
The United States Department of Justice said that at least $ 4.5 billion from the 1MBR fund were laundered through US financial institutions and passed through the ex-premier, his family and employees.
The former prime minister’s representative called the arrest “a politically motivated act and the result of political revenge” by incumbent Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and the opposition that now controls Malaysia. Najib Razak himself denies any accusations. Recall last week, the Malaysian police said that they confiscated from Razak and his wife, cash, jewelry, art and other valuables worth $ 273 million. The catalog of seized ornaments included 567 bags and 2200 rings.
The 1MDB scandal surfaced in 2015, and US prosecutors say money stolen from the fund was spent on stunning acquisitions, such as a $ 250 million yacht owned by a friend of Najib’s stepson. The Malaysian investigators are also investigating whether the money from the ICBM was used to finance the re-election of Najib Razak.
