Prayers, a gold cushion and yet another row: Najib Razak’s 1MDB trial finally begins in Malaysia
- The disgraced former prime minister of Malaysia faces a total of 42 charges over the multibillion-dollar financial scandal at the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad state fund. If guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in jail
- His first trial, which began on Wednesday, involves seven charges, relating to losses at the subsidiary SRC International
The long awaited corruption trial of Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak sparked a war of words between the legal titans leading the defence and prosecution just hours after it began on Wednesday.
The trial is the first in a series of legal battles ahead for Najib, who faces a total of 42 charges in relation to a multibillion-dollar financial scandal at the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund. If found guilty of just a handful of them, the 65-year-old could spend the rest of his life in jail.
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Prosecutors say he was involved in an intricate web of corruption that resulted in losses of US$4.5 billion from the fund and laundered money in multiple jurisdictions including Singapore, the United States and Switzerland.
The trial that began on Wednesday involves losses at the 1MDB subsidiary SRC International, for which Najib faces a total of seven charges: three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money laundering, and one count of abuse of power.
Najib, dressed in a blue suit and white shirt, arrived in the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex shortly before the 2pm start of the trial.
