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WHAT ARE THE CASES AGAINST NAJIB?
Malaysian authorities say Najib illegally received more than US$1 billion traceable to 1MDB.
A person described in US lawsuits as “Malaysian Official 1” allegedly received more than US$1 billion in 1MDB funds, some of which was used to buy jewellery for the person’s wife.
The lawsuits said the person received US$681 million shortly before Malaysia’s 2013 election, when the Barisan Nasional coalition led by Najib’s United Malays National Organisation held onto power while losing the popular vote.
Najib, voted out in a 2018 election amid public anger over the scandal, is facing 42 criminal charges over losses at 1MDB and other state entities. If convicted, he could face decades in prison as well as hefty fines.
In July 2020, in the first of five trials, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison and a RM210 million (US$46.94 million) fine after being found guilty of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power, and money laundering for illegally receiving about US$10 million from SRC International, a former 1MDB unit.
The verdict was upheld by an appellate court last year, and on Tuesday the Federal Court ruled against Najib’s final appeal.
Other trials he faces involve funds at 1MDB and other government bodies, as well as allegations of audit tampering. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
WHAT ARE THE STATUS OF THESE CASES?
Despite the scandal, Najib has retained some of his former popularity and remains influential within UMNO, which is now back in power.
He remains on trial in the four other cases.
Najib has said he was misled by Low and other 1MDB officials into believing the funds banked into his accounts were donated by the Saudi royal family.
HOW ARE AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATING 1MDB?
At least six countries, including Singapore and Switzerland, have launched financial mismanagement and criminal investigations into 1MDB dealings, in a global probe that has implicated financial institutions and high-ranking officials worldwide.
In 2020, US firm Goldman Sachs agreed to pay more than US$5 billion, including a record US$2.9 billion in the US, to settle investigations into its role in underwriting US$6.5 billion in bond sales for 1MDB.
In April, former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng, a Malaysian, was convicted by a US court of conspiring to violate an anti-corruption law and money laundering. He is the first, and likely only, person to face trial in the US over the scheme.
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