Advertisement
Malaysia’s Najib Razak seeks court order to take down Netflix show about 1MDB scandal, ‘Man on the Run’
- Ex-PM’s lawyers say ‘Man on the Run’ documentary is prejudicial towards ongoing corruption trials linking Najib to billions allegedly siphoned from state fund
- They are ‘highly likely’ to take action against ex-attorney general Tommy Thomas and journalist Clare Rewcastle-Brown for contempt of court linked to the show
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
5

Lawyers for Malaysia’s ex-prime minister Najib Razak have filed an application with the High Court to take down a recent Netflix documentary on the 1MDB corruption scandal, arguing that it is prejudicial towards ongoing corruption trials linking the one-time political star to billions of ringgit allegedly siphoned out of the state fund.
In his latest trial, the disgraced former premier faces four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money-laundering involving 2.27 billion ringgit (US$488 million) that prosecutors say was stolen from the 1MDB fund between 2011 and 2014.
Najib, 70, is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for corruption linked to a former unit of 1MDB. He has denied all charges and maintains his innocence.
On Monday, Shafee Abdullah, Najib’s lead counsel, applied for the prosecution to review the documentary and urge the attorney general to advise the government to take down Man on the Run from at least Netflix’s Malaysia platform, arguing that it was “contemptuous” and had cast unfair aspersions on his client.
Shafee highlighted allegations made by former attorney general Tommy Thomas and Clare Rewcastle-Brown, editor of news site Sarawak Report, in the documentary.
Advertisement