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Bloomberg
The first of many trials for Malaysia’s former premier Najib Razak will serve as a key test of the nation’s readiness to get to the bottom of the 1MDB scandal.
Najib appeared in court on Wednesday to face seven of 42 corruption and money-laundering charges linked to his role in 1MDB, the state fund at the centre of a global heist that allegedly saw $4.5 billion embezzled. Najib, who has denied any wrongdoing, stopped to greet a group of his supporters before entering the courthouse.
Recouping the lost funds and bringing those responsible to justice were at the top of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s list of promises when he assumed office last May. Malaysian prosecutors have since slapped dozens of charges on former 1MDB officers, fugitive financier Low Taek Jho and units of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. But nearly a year later, only Najib is ready to proceed to trial.
The seven charges expected to be adjudicated refer to $10.3 million of funds that Najib allegedly received in his personal accounts from SRC International Sdn, a former unit of 1MDB. The relevant fund transfers were done onshore, making it simpler for Malaysian investigators to trace compared with the globe-spanning transactions that led to the other charges.
“The accused is not above the law and his prosecution and this trial should serve as precedents for all future holders of this august office,†Attorney General Tommy Thomas said. Prosecutors will seek to prove that Najib sent illicit funds to his private banking account from which he issued 15 personal checks that were used for, among other things, renovation works at his Kuala Lumpur home, Thomas said.