Update: Najib ex-Malaysia PM charged with theft
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najib is the first former prime minister ever to be charged in court in the history of malaysia said tian chua vice president of parti keadilan rakyat a key political party in the current ruling coalition1 former malaysian prime minister najib razak was formally charged wednesday with corruption linked to a multi-billion dollar financial scandal that contributed to his shock election defeat less than two months ago1 each charge could see him jailed for up to 20 years1 the unprecedented court appearance came the day after the 64-year-old was arrested at his luxury home by officers probing how billions of dollars of state funds disappeared on his watch1 in court the former leader appeared tired and hung his head often during proceedings1 allegations of massive corruption were a major factor behind the electoral earthquake in may that toppled najibs long-ruling coalition and ushered in a reformist alliance headed by his 92-year-old former mentor mahathir mohamad1 wednesdays court hearing was the latest step in a quick-moving investigation into alleged wrongdoing by najib his family and many of his close political and business allies1 the first ex-premier in malaysia to appear before a judge najib pleaded not guilty to three counts of criminal breach of trust and a separate charge that he abused his position to pocket 42 million ringgit 10.4 million1 it signals a new era where no one in public office will be immune from punitive action if they abuse power he added1 najib is expected to be freed on bail later wednesday after the court decided on at one million ringgit bond1 the former premier was also ordered to surrender his two malaysian passports. attorney general tommy thomas who leads a 12-member prosecution team had requested bail of four million ringgit in cash but najibs lawyer muhammad shafee insisted his client was not a flight risk.1 the court set a tentative date for the trial beginning in february 20191 according to an investigation by the wall street journal 10.6 million originating from src international sdn bhd an energy company that was originally a subsidiary of 1mdb was transferred to najibs personal bank accounts a fraction of hundreds of millions of dollars from 1mdb that was allegedly funnelled to him1 najib and the fund deny any wrongdoing. afp1