Najib pleads not guilty to corruption charges in 1MDB case

Bloomberg

Malaysia’s former leader Najib Razak has pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption and criminal breach of trust in connection with a multibillion-dollar scandal surrounding state
fund 1MDB.
Appearing in the High Court on Wednesday, Najib was granted bail of 1 million ringgit ($247,000) and ordered to surrender his passports. He faces three counts of criminal breach of trust, and one charge under the anti-corruption act.
If found guilty, he could be jailed for up to 20 years and fined. The ex-prime minister is seeking a trial for all charges.
While the breach of trust charges carry punishments that include whipping — usually done with strokes of a rattan cane — Najib may be exempted for being more than 50 years old.
The charges are the result of the investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Attorney-General Tommy Thomas said.
“As far as I’m concerned, we are looking at it from a criminal law perspective. Doesn’t matter who the personality is.”
PM Mahathir Mohamad, whose coalition ousted Najib in May, has sought to recoup $4.5 billion potentially siphoned from 1MDB. A parliamentary committee in 2016 identified at least $4.2 billion in irregular transactions by the fund, with the US Department of Justice saying some cash was used to purchase a 300-foot yacht, luxury homes, artwork, and stakes in several Hollywood films, including The Wolf of Wall Street.
The charges allege that between December 24 to December 29, 2014, at AmIslamic Bank Bhd., Najib as prime minister and finance minister was given the mandate to manage 4 billion ringgit of funds belonging to SRC International Sdn. and that he committed a breach of trust on 27 million ringgit.
Over the same period he’s alleged to have committed a second breach of trust on 5 million ringgit. And from February 10 to March 2, 2015, he committed a third breach of trust on 10 million ringgit, the charges note.
The court also heard Najib allegedly used his position to gain gratification of 42 million ringgit for himself by granting a government guarantee on 4 billion ringgit of loans from Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) to SRC International between August 17, 2011 and February 8, 2012.
Najib’s next court dates were tentatively set for February 8-18, March 4-8 and March 11-15 for the trial, totalling 19 days of hearing, said Judge Mohd Sofian Abd Razak, noting August 8 was set for case management.

Video Apology
In a video posted on Najib’s official Twitter account, he apologised to the nation while saying not all of the accusations against him are true and that he’d defend himself.
Invoking the afterlife, the caption said: “I accept that today is the day my family and I face the world’s tribulation.”
“I believe in my innocence,” Najib said to reporters after he was charged.
“This is the best chance for me to clear my name, after being accused so heavily.”
Najib was arrested on July 3, less than two months after a surprise election loss that toppled his party’s six-decade rule.
His former government had previously cleared him of wrongdoing.