Malaysia arrests former Prime Minister Najib Razak

Malaysian authorities arrested their former Prime Minister Najib Razak on July 3, and they are set to charge him for his involvement at the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) in the loss of billions of US dollars the following day.
Malaysia arrests former Prime Minister Najib Razak ảnh 1Malaysian authorities arrested former Prime Minister Najib Razak on July 3.
(Photo: South China Morning Post)

Hanoi (VNA) – Malaysian authorities arrested their former Prime Minister Najib Razak on July 3, and they are set to charge him for his involvement at the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) in the loss of billions of US dollars the following day.

Previously, the task force had looked into the 1MDB scandal, freezing 408 bank accounts involving funds of approximately 1.1 billion ringgit (272.4 million USD). 

These accounts included those of 81 individuals and 55 companies believed to have received funds from 1MDB, and be linked to the misappropriation and misuse of 1MDB funds.

1MDB is an investment fund formed by then Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 with the aim of serving Malaysia’s development through global partnerships and foreign direct investment.

However, it became the centre of a money laundering scandal, allegedly causing losses of up to 3.7 billion USD and leading to probes into the financial markets in several countries such as the US, Switzerland, Singapore, Malaysia, and China.

In early May, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission summoned Razak and his wife for investigation. Police also seized a vast quantity of valuables, worth up to 273 million USD, from the country’s former leader.

Taking office after the May 9 election, new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said one of the top priorities of his government is dealing with the corruption and recovering the losses from 1MDB. The Malaysian Government also re-investigated the 1MDB case and set up a special committee to look into the problems surrounding this fund. -VNA
VNA

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