KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s High Court
found former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak guilty of abuse of power and money laundering
on Dec 26 in the biggest trial yet in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal.
The following are details of the sprawling scandal and cases brought against him:
Sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was set up in 2009 with the help of Malaysian financier Jho Low to promote economic development. Najib, who was prime minister from 2009 to 2018, co-founded 1MDB and chaired its advisory board until 2016.
The fund raised billions of dollars in bonds for use in investment projects and joint ventures between 2009 and 2013.
Conducting its largest-ever kleptocracy investigation, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said US$4.5 billion (S$5.7 billion) was diverted to offshore bank accounts and shell companies, many linked to Low. The Malaysian authorities say billions more remain unaccounted for.
The siphoned funds were used to buy luxury assets and real estate for Low and his associates, including a private jet, a superyacht, hotels and jewellery, and to finance the 2013 Hollywood film The Wolf Of Wall Street, US lawsuits have said.
Low, a fugitive, has been charged in Malaysia and the United States over his central role in the case.
He denies wrongdoing and his whereabouts remain unknown. Malaysia has said he is in China, but Beijing denies it. Najib was not named by the DoJ, but was alluded to in the investigation as “Malaysian Official 1”, according to Malaysian and US sources.
Malaysian authorities say Najib illegally received more than US$1 billion traceable to 1MDB, and according to US lawsuits, allege that some of these funds were used to buy jewellery.
The US lawsuits, which did not name Najib, stated that this individual received US$681 million shortly before Malaysia’s 2013 election. Public anger over the scandal contributed to Najib’s
defeat in the 2018 election
