Former Malaysian PM Najib Razak gets 12 years in jail for 1MDB-linked graft case [Post #14]

[Abdullah719]

Najib Razak, the former Malaysian prime minister, has been arrested for his alleged role in the 1MDB scandal, in which billions were embezzled from a government fund.

Najib, who was toppled from power in May, was arrested in his Kuala Lumpur home on Tuesday afternoon and will be charged in court in the Malaysian capital on Wednesday morning, according to a statement from the team investigating 1MDB.

The former prime minster was picked up from his property using three unmarked cars and taken to the Malaysian anti-corruption agency (MACC) headquarters in Putrajaya where he will be held overnight.

His arrest came after the newly elected government, led by 92-year-old Mahathir Mohamad, reopened the investigation into 1MDB the moment it came into power in May and pledged to bring to justice all of those responsible for the multibillion dollar fraud.

Mahathir said last week that authorities had an almost “perfect case” against Najib on charges including bribery, theft of government funds and embezzlement.

Najib is expected to be charged with multiple counts of abuse of power and criminal breach of trust by a public servant, which is punishable by whipping and a maximum twenty year jail term. It is thought he will also be charged with using public office for gratification, which again carries a jail term of up to twenty years. The prosecution will be led by the newly appointed Attorney General Tommy Thomas.

The 1MDB scandal, described as the biggest corruption scandal in Malaysian history, involved billions of dollars being embezzled from a government fund and fraudulently spent around the world. $681m (£516m) of 1MDB money went into Najib’s personal bank account, where it is alleged it was used to fund the lavish spending habits of Najib and his wife.

In the US, the Department of Justice is seeking to seize $1.7bn in real estate, art works, yachts, and luxury goods allegedly bought with misappropriated 1MDB money.

Najib was cleared of all wrongdoing when he was prime minister but the investigation was widely viewed as a cover-up. He has always denied responsibility, and reiterated his innocence in a interview last week, saying: “If I knew there was going to be misappropriation of funds, if that was my knowledge, I would have acted.”

According to figures in the finance ministry, 1MDB’s losses total $10bn.

Najib’s stepson Riza Aziz was also questioned by MACC on Tuesday over allegedly misappropriating 1MDB money to fund the Martin Scorsese film The Wolf of Wall Street.

Aziz, who owns a film production company, denies any wrongdoing but in March it was revealed that his company agreed to pay the US government $60m to settle a civil lawsuit that sought to seize assets purchased with money allegedly stolen from 1MDB.

Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, have given statements to the MACC over 1MDB. As part of the investigation the police carried out raids on their homes, in which jewellery, handbags and watches worth up to $273m, and $29m in cash were seized. The couple maintain the luxury goods were gifts and that the cash was election funds.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...ian-leader-najib-arrested-in-45bn-graft-probe

 

[Syed1]

Deep state sazish has reached Malaysia

 

[Mian]

Saazish written all over it : nooras logic

 

[Gabbar Singh]

This was the same guy who had $681m transferred into his personal bank account by the government of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia said on Thursday that $681m (£479m) transferred into Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s personal bank account was a “genuine donation”.

Najib faced corruption allegations after the transfer was discovered last year. Fighting for his political life, the premier was cleared in January by the Malaysian attorney general, who said the cash was a gift from the royal family in Saudi Arabia.

Asked at the summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul if he was aware of the details of the political donation, Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir said: “It is a genuine donation with nothing expected in return

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp....bia-money-malaysian-pm-najib-genuine-donation

 

[Suleiman]

Sad that Malaysian politics has fallen to the same levels of corruption as other third world countries, place was run pretty smoothy about 10 years back.

 

[Napa]

Sad that Malaysian politics has fallen to the same levels of corruption as other third world countries, place was run pretty smoothy about 10 years back.

Malaysia owes its development mostly to Mahathir who is partly of Indian ancestry. Long term prospects are not good.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Malaysia owes its development mostly to Mahathir who is partly of Indian ancestry. Long term prospects are not good.

The IMF, World Bank etc disagree - Malaysia is on course to become a high income economy in the next handful of years. The average Malaysian may not be living in abundance but generally they have very good living standards.

 

[Napa]

The IMF, World Bank etc disagree - Malaysia is on course to become a high income economy in the next handful of years. The average Malaysian may not be living in abundance but generally they have very good living standards.

Malaysia is an upper middle income country, with PPP GDP around $29K. However, it has not developed modern industries and is more of a manufacturing base for foreign firms and has a large portion of its GDP made up of commodity exports. The scope for further development is poor.

 

[Varun]

Malaysia is an upper middle income country, with PPP GDP around $29K. However, it has not developed modern industries and is more of a manufacturing base for foreign firms and has a large portion of its GDP made up of commodity exports. The scope for further development is poor.

It sounds like Karnataka from afar.

B̶a̶n̶g̶a̶l̶o̶r̶e̶ ... Kuala Lumpur or bust.

 

[Napa]

It sounds like Karnataka from afar.

B̶a̶n̶g̶a̶l̶o̶r̶e̶ ... Kuala Lumpur or bust.

Difference between India and Malaysia comes down to 2 things:

1) Per cap PPP GDP of Malaysia is around $30,000 compared to around $7,500 for India. Malaysia is much richer.

2) India is technologically much more developed. Indian firms that compete globally have market caps of hundreds of billions of dollars. Students from Indian universities go on to great success abroad.

The overall conclusion is that in terms of wealth, India is far behind Malaysia. However, in terms of development and international competitiveness, the upper section of Indians is far ahead of Malaysia.

India really needs to pull the mass of its poor out of poverty.

 

[MenInG]

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Riza Aziz, the stepson of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, has agreed to testify against the ex-premier in a trial linked to a multibillion-dollar fraud at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), prosecutors said on Tuesday.

The announcement comes days after a Malaysian court agreed to drop a $248-million money laundering case against Riza, a Hollywood film producer, in a deal that would see the government recover $107.3 million in overseas assets.

State prosecutor Gopal Sri Ram said Riza may be added to the list of prosecution witnesses in one of Najib’s trials after agreeing to testify against his stepfather.

“(Riza) has indicated his readiness to give evidence for the prosecution in this case,” Gopal told the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

He was referring to a trial in which Najib faces 25 charges of money laundering and corruption for illegally receiving 2.3 billion ringgit ($530 million) linked to 1MDB.

Riza’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

U.S. and Malaysian authorities say about $4.5 billion was looted from 1MDB, co-founded in 2009 by Najib, who was voted out of power in 2018 amid widespread public anger over the scandal.

He has since been charged with 42 criminal offences linked to losses at the fund and other state entities, and has pleaded not guilty.

Riza, a co-founder of Hollywood firm Red Granite Pictures, has agreed to give up properties in the United States and Britain as part of last week’s settlement, officials have said.

The U.S. Department of Justice has said Red Granite financed three films, including 2013’s Oscar-nominated “The Wolf of Wall Street”, using funds allegedly misappropriated from 1MDB.

Red Granite paid the U.S. government $60 million in September 2017 to settle a civil forfeiture claim over the rights to the films.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...t-him-in-1mdb-trial-prosecutors-idUSKBN22V1BY

 

[Firebat]

Mahathir promises 'very big trouble' for Malaysia's ruling coalition

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Veteran Malaysian politician Mahathir Mohamad said he would seek to oust Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin at every turn, scolding his successor for bringing back into power a graft-tainted party rejected by voters in an historic election two years ago.

Spoiler

The prospect of more political and policy uncertainty in Malaysia comes at a time when the multi-ethnic Southeast Asian nation is grappling with the health crisis and economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

On Wednesday, the 94-year-old Mahathir, who resigned the premiership in February, questioned the legitimacy of Muhyiddin’s 2-1/2 month old coalition with the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).

“It’s wrong for this backdoor arrangement to be done. We want to give the people the rightful government that they chose. That is our aim,” Mahathir told Reuters in an interview conducted on video conferencing app Zoom.

Having been part of Mahathir’s government, Muhyiddin unexpectedly emerged as prime minister in March after forging al alliance with UMNO to gain a parliamentary majority. The opposition have accused him of stealing power by shifting alliances instead of earning it at the ballot box.

Earlier this week, the government avoided a confidence vote tabled by Mahathir, insisting that parliament gave priority to the fight against the coronavirus, and its economic fallout.

But Mahathir reckoned Muhyiddin’s alliance only held a two-seat majority in parliament’s 222-seat lower house, and said he would keep working with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, despite past differences, to topple the government that replaced them.

“That is the narrowest majority any government in Malaysia ever had,” Mahathir said.

“(Muhyiddin) is going to be in very great trouble. Because whatever chance we have to prove that it is not legitimate for him to be the prime minister, we will do that.”

He said opposition parties would reject bills that Muhyiddin’s administration brings to parliament if a confidence vote is not allowed to be tabled.

“If everything he brings to parliament is rejected, how does he continue?,” Mahathir said.

Having led Malaysia for 22 years until 2003, Mahathir came out of retirement to join hands with former foes to oust then prime minister Najib Razak, who now faces corruption charges mostly related to the alleged looting of billions of dollars from sovereign fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

The multi-ethic alliance led by Mahathir and Anwar scored a stunning victory in the 2018 election, toppling Najib and dumping UMNO out of power for the first time since Malaysia’s independence from British colonial rule.

Najib, who co-founded 1MDB, has denied all wrongdoing.

Last week, prosecutors dropped money-laundering charges tied to 1MDB against Riza Aziz, Najib’s stepson, after agreeing to a deal that officials said included the recovery of $107.3 million from overseas assets.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-for-malaysias-ruling-coalition-idUSKBN22W1WQ

 

[MenInG]

Former Malaysian PM Najib Razak has been found guilty of all seven charges in the first of several multi-million dollar corruption trials.

He had pleaded not guilty to the charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering, and abuse of power.

The case against Najib, in office from 2009 to 2018, was widely seen as a test of Malaysia's anti-corruption efforts.

The scandal around Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund has uncovered a global web of fraud and corruption.

Najib could now face decades in prison - but he is expected to remain out of prison until appeals are exhausted.

"After considering all evidence in this trial, I find that the prosecution has successfully proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt," judge Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali told the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

What were the accusations?
Tuesday's verdicts centred on 42 million ringgit ($10m, £7.7m) transferred from the fund to the then-prime minister's private accounts.

Najib denies all wrongdoing and says he was misled by financial advisers - in particular fugitive financier Jho Low.

Jho Low has been charged in both the US and Malaysia, but also maintains his innocence.

Najib's defence team argued he was led to believe the funds in his accounts were donated by the Saudi royal family - rather than misappropriated from the state fund.

The charges carry as much as 15 to 20 years in prison each. Before the verdict, Najib said he would appeal if found guilty.

The 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fund was set up in 2009, when Najib Razak was prime minister, to boost the country's economic development.

In 2015, questions were raised around its activities after it missed payments owed to banks and bondholders.

Malaysian and US authorities allege that $4.5bn was illicitly plundered from the fund and diverted into private pockets.

The missing money has been linked to luxury real estate, a private jet, Van Gogh and Monet artworks - and even a Hollywood blockbuster, the Wolf of Wall Street.

Last week, US bank Goldman Sachs reached a $3.9bn (£3bn) settlement with the Malaysian government for its role in the multi-billion-dollar corruption scheme.

The deal resolved charges in Malaysia that the bank misled investors when it helped raise $6.5bn for 1MDB.

Since his dramatic election defeat two years ago, the first for his party in 60 years - and the humiliation of seeing luxury items wheeled from his home in shopping trolleys by the police - Najib Razak has enjoyed something of a political resurrection.

Still a very powerful figure within UMNO, the former ruling party, he has successfully posed as a champion of ethnic Malays, many of whom became disillusioned with the reformist coalition which replaced him.

When that coalition collapsed in February, and UMNO joined a new government, Najib expressed confidence that the series of trials would go his way.

That confidence proved misplaced.

This first criminal conviction of such a senior political figure must now hurt his standing within UMNO, and will improve the public standing of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin - once a close colleague and stalwart of UMNO who was fired in 2016 over his objections to the 1MDB scandal.

He now leads a fragile coalition with a wafer-thin parliamentary majority, pushing Malaysia into uncharacteristically choppy political waters.

What else is Najib accused of?
The former prime minister was cleared of all allegations by Malaysian authorities while he was still in office.

Yet the accusations played a big part in his election defeat in 2018 - and the new government swiftly reopened investigations into the 1MDB case.

While Tuesday's verdicts were the first, they were possibly not the most significant.

A separate trial that began last August looks at accusations the former prime minister illicitly obtained 2.28bn ringgit ($550m, £448m) from 1MDB between 2011 and 2014.

He is facing 21 counts of money-laundering and four of abuse of power but again, denies any wrongdoing.

His wife, Rosmah Mansor, also faces money-laundering and tax evasion charges, to which she has pleaded not guilty.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53563065

 

[MenInG]

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been sentenced to serve up to 12 years in jail after a court in Kuala Lumpur found him guilty of corruption in the first of several cases linked to the alleged theft of billions of dollars from the state fund, 1MDB.

The ruling on Tuesday makes Najib the first Malaysian leader to be convicted of corruption.

Judge Mohamad Nazlan Ghazali found the former prime minister guilty on all seven charges filed against him over his role in diverting an estimated 42 million ringgit ($9.8m) from SRC International, a unit of 1MDB, into his personal bank accounts.

"I find that the prosecution has successfully proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt. I therefore find the accused guilty and convict the accused on all seven charges," the judge said.

Najib was ordered to pay a fine of 210 million ringgit ($49m), and given 12 years in jail on one count of abuse of power, 10 years each for three counts of criminal breach of trust and 10 years each for three counts of money laundering.

But Judge Mohamad ordered the sentences to run concurrently, meaning the former prime minister will serve 12 years in prison.

Najib was not taken to jail immediately, however, as the judge issued a stay order on the execution of the sentence and his lawyers said they would appeal the guilty verdicts.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...l-1mdb-linked-graft-case-200728110222866.html

 

[Syed1]

Establishment might be in action and jamhooriat might be in khatra in Malaysia


[MENTION=1269]Bewal Express[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]

 

[Bewal Express]

Establishment might be in action and jamhooriat might be in khatra in Malaysia


[MENTION=1269]Bewal Express[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]

It's all the work of the ISI. Great work by Mahatir, it's a shame he stepped down so quickly.

 

[MenInG]

Malaysia former Prime Minister Najib Razak has been sent to jail to begin serving a 12-year sentence, after the top court rejected his appeal.

The 69-year-old's charges relate to a corruption scandal involving state-owned wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

He was convicted in July 2020, but had been out on bail during the appeal.

The court also denied Najib's request to delay his sentence. He has continued to deny any wrongdoing.

In 2020, a court had found him guilty on seven counts - centred on a total of 42m ringgit ($9.4m; £8m) which was transferred from SRC International - a former unit of 1MDB - into his private accounts.

He was sentenced to 12 years' jail and a fine of 210m ringgit ($46.8m; £39.7m).

The defence team had argued Najib was led to believe the funds in his accounts were donated by the Saudi royal family rather than misappropriated from the state fund.

They also claimed he was misled by financial advisers, particularly fugitive financier Jho Low - who has been charged in both the US and Malaysia but also maintains his innocence.

In his final push for freedom on Tuesday, Najib's lawyer requested the removal of Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat from the panel presiding over the case - in what was seen as a bid to forestall a final verdict.

They claimed she could be biased as her husband had made a Facebook post in 2018 which was critical of Najib.

However, the chief justice declined the request as she said the post was before the charges were brought against Najib.

In her verdict, the chief justice said the five-judge panel unanimously found that the conviction of Najib on all seven counts was safe and the appeal "devoid of any merits".

"The defence is so inherently inconsistent and incredible that it has not raised reasonable doubt on the case," she said.

The charges addressed on Tuesday make up only the the first of five trials relating to 1MDB.

Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, also faces money laundering and tax evasion charges - to which she has pleaded not guilty.

She separately faces corruption charges related to a solar hybrid project, and the High Court is set to deliver her verdict for this case on 1 September.

BBC

 

[JaDed]

It's all the work of the ISI. Great work by Mahatir, it's a shame he stepped down so quickly.

Hope you see how the tables turned. Everyone should be wary of establishments.

 

[Varun]

It's all the work of the ISI. Great work by Mahatir, it's a shame he stepped down so quickly.

Moral of the story: don't hero worship the 'establishment' in Pakistan in its current form.