Najib could spend rest of his life in jail if found guilty – Rosmah next to face charges
Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak pleaded not guilty on September 20 to no less than 21 counts of money laundering and four counts of abuse of power, the highest number of charges brought against him so far.
If found guilty, penalties would add up and the 64-year-old would likely have to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
The most serious of the 25 charges carry a maximum 20-year jail term. Najib is already facing up to 20 years in jail regarding four earlier charges leveled against him for alleged money laundering at SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
He was slapped with the new charges at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court in connection with $681 million that went into his personal bank account. The money is believed to have come from state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), which had debts of over $12 billion at its peak.
Najib does not dispute the transfer but claims the funds were a “political donation” from a Saudi royal and not subject to regulation under Malaysian law.
However, investigators believe the funds were siphoned off from 1MDB in one of the world’s biggest-ever financial fraud scandals. Charges unveiled include nine counts of receiving illegal proceeds, five counts of using illegal proceeds, seven counts of transferring the proceeds to other entities and four counts of power abuse.
Graft probes are underway in at least six countries, and investigators at the US Department of Justice believe Najib’s associates embezzled and laundered $4.5 billion from the fund between 2009 and 2014.
Bail for Najib has been granted and set at 3.5 million ringgit ($845,410) and must be settled in full by September 28.
Meanwhile, local media reports say that money laundering charges are soon expected to be brought against Najib’s wife Rosmah Manor (66), whose penchant for luxury goods made her a symbol of opulence and excess. She would be formally charged “soon” with as many as 20 counts of money laundering related to 1MDB, the New Straits Times reported. If found guilty, she also would likely be jailed for the rest of her life.
Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak pleaded not guilty on September 20 to no less than 21 counts of money laundering and four counts of abuse of power, the highest number of charges brought against him so far. If found guilty, penalties would add up and the 64-year-old would likely have to spend the rest of his life behind bars. The most serious of the 25 charges carry a maximum 20-year jail term. Najib is already facing up to 20 years in jail regarding four earlier charges leveled against him for alleged money laundering at SRC International, a former subsidiary...
Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak pleaded not guilty on September 20 to no less than 21 counts of money laundering and four counts of abuse of power, the highest number of charges brought against him so far.
If found guilty, penalties would add up and the 64-year-old would likely have to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
The most serious of the 25 charges carry a maximum 20-year jail term. Najib is already facing up to 20 years in jail regarding four earlier charges leveled against him for alleged money laundering at SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
He was slapped with the new charges at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court in connection with $681 million that went into his personal bank account. The money is believed to have come from state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), which had debts of over $12 billion at its peak.
Najib does not dispute the transfer but claims the funds were a “political donation” from a Saudi royal and not subject to regulation under Malaysian law.
However, investigators believe the funds were siphoned off from 1MDB in one of the world’s biggest-ever financial fraud scandals. Charges unveiled include nine counts of receiving illegal proceeds, five counts of using illegal proceeds, seven counts of transferring the proceeds to other entities and four counts of power abuse.
Graft probes are underway in at least six countries, and investigators at the US Department of Justice believe Najib’s associates embezzled and laundered $4.5 billion from the fund between 2009 and 2014.
Bail for Najib has been granted and set at 3.5 million ringgit ($845,410) and must be settled in full by September 28.
Meanwhile, local media reports say that money laundering charges are soon expected to be brought against Najib’s wife Rosmah Manor (66), whose penchant for luxury goods made her a symbol of opulence and excess. She would be formally charged “soon” with as many as 20 counts of money laundering related to 1MDB, the New Straits Times reported. If found guilty, she also would likely be jailed for the rest of her life.
