Jailed Najib back in court to face more graft charges

KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysia's jailed former prime minister Najib Razak returned to court yesterday to face more charges linked to a multibillion-dollar financial scandal at state fund 1MDB, two days after he began serving a 12-year prison term.

This was his first appearance after being taken to prison on Tuesday when the Federal Court, Malaysia's highest tribunal, upheld his sentence in the initial batch of charges linked to the scandal that brought down his government in 2018.

Najib, 69, was found guilty in that case of abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust over the transfer of RM42 million from SRC International - a former unit of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) - to his personal bank account.

Analysts said the prison term would likely shut the door to a political comeback for the former leader, who remains popular especially among rural Malay voters.

Yesterday's hearing at the High Court pertained to four charges of abuse of power stemming from Najib's alleged pilfering of RM2.3 billion (S$714 million) from the state investment fund, as well as 21 counts of money laundering involving the same amount. He faces a maximum of 20 years in jail for abuse of power and up to 15 years for money laundering if convicted.

Najib, dressed in a dark suit and red tie, arrived at the court under heavy armed security. Half a dozen police motorcycles led a convoy of vehicles with darkly tinted windows, some with sirens wailing.

About 100 supporters gathered at the entrance of the courthouse chanting "Datuk Seri", Najib's honorific title. He was taken into the courtroom via a private passage and looked tired, with his head slightly lowered as he entered.

Holding a red folder, Najib sat quietly in the dock, a far cry from his chatty demeanour before the Federal Court upheld his jail sentence.

Najib and his ruling party were voted out in 2018 following allegations he and his associates stole billions of dollars from 1MDB and spent it on everything from high-end real estate to pricey art.

The scandal sparked investigations in the United States, Switzerland and Singapore among other jurisdictions, whose financial systems were believed to have been used to launder the money.

The US Justice Department has said more than US$4.5 billion (S$6.25 billion) was stolen from 1MDB between 2009 and 2015 by high-level officials at the fund and their associates.

Apart from the 1MDB case that led to his court appearance yesterday, Najib has three other pending cases.

One of them involves another trial linked to SRC International. He is being charged with three counts of money laundering totalling RM27 million, and is alleged to have received the money at a Kuala Lumpur bank branch on July 8, 2014.

In another case, Najib and former Treasury secretary-general Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah are facing joint charges of six criminal breaches of trust involving RM6.64 billion of government funds.

Another pending case involves 1MDB audit report tampering where Najib is charged with power abuse. Former 1MDB chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy is charged with abetting him.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK