Malaysian court orders former PM Najib to defend more 1MDB charges

(Bloomberg) — Malaysia’s Supreme Court has ordered former prime minister Najib Razak to defend himself against corruption and money laundering charges related to sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, in a fresh blow to the politician already jailed over the scandal.

Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah told a courtroom in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday that the charges against Najib were valid and the prosecution had opened a case against him. He also found all prosecution witnesses to be credible, including former Malaysian central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz.

The court decision shows that Najib’s long-running legal troubles are far from over, although Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim welcomed a public apology from him. Najib, 71, was accused four times of abusing his position to obtain 2.3 billion ringgit ($524 million) of 1MDB funds while in power in 2018. He is also charged with 21 counts of money laundering.

Najib’s trials are a political headache for Anwar, who must balance conflicting interests to stay in power. The jailed former leader wields significant influence in the United Malays National Organization party, which is part of Anwar’s coalition government following the suspension of parliament in 2022. But any concessions to Najib could weaken the prime minister’s credibility and support base. Enver denied intervening in the cases.

Judge Sequerah said in his ruling on Wednesday that Najib was in the best position to gain control over 1MDB. He said Najib had also been warned repeatedly that something might go wrong. In his response to the ruling, Najib said he would defend himself against the accusations.

“We are extremely disappointed,” Najib’s lawyer Shafee Abdullah told reporters outside the courthouse later. “But we are not giving up, we will fight this case and we are more determined because of this decision,” he said.

He said the trial will continue on December 2 and the defense plans to call 11 witnesses.

The former prime minister remains behind bars on separate 1MDB-related charges. Although a Malaysian court rejected his petition, he attempted to serve the remainder of his prison sentence at home, which was halved to six years by a royal pardon in January.

Last week he apologized in a letter for allowing the scandal to emerge during his premiership, but denied any criminal involvement in the scheme. He also said he was not aware that the money sent to his bank accounts came from 1MDB funds.

“I am still in deep shock as I now know the extent of the wretched and unscrupulous shenanigans and illegal things taking place at 1MDB,” he said in the letter, read by his son. “I am deeply saddened by what happened”

(Updates with comments from Najib’s lawyer in sixth paragraph)

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