Najib Razak at risk of isolation amid Malaysian corruption scandal

Malaysian prime minister needs to prepare himself as rivals within his party jostle to outmanoeuvre him.

Allegations surrounding the movement of $700m into Najib Razak’s personal bank account has gripped Malaysia. Photograph: Olivia Harris/Reuters

Malaysia is a country in turmoil. The country’s prime minister, Najib Razak, is alleged to have performed daylight robbery with the depositing of $700m (£456m) into his personal bank account.

The FBI and police in Hong Kong have launched investigations as the worst crisis of Najib’s career unfolds. Swiss authorities have frozen millions of dollars in bank accounts linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad, the state development fund at the centre of the corruption allegations.

And now the nation’s powerful sultans have broken both their silence and their non-political stance to call for a swift investigation into 1MBD.

Najib has denied taking any money and has launched a campaign to disarm his critics. Cabinet ministers who have openly doubted him have been sacked, the media have been suppressed and outspoken politicians have been repeatedly chastised.

Read more on theguardian

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1MDB: The case that's riveting Malaysia

Malaysians are no strangers to money politics but the high-profile players and the amount of funds allegedly involved in the so-called "1MDB scandal" have gripped the nation.


It stems from Prime Minister Najib Razak's strategic state fund called 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) set up in 2009 when he came into office. The fund is meant to turn Kuala Lumpur into a financial hub.

It started to attract national attention when it missed payments for the $11bn (£7.1bn; €9.9bn) it owes to banks and bondholders.

Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has said the fund has taken on too much debt and lacks transparency. He has also criticised Mr Najib's family's "lavish" lifestyle, which has been regularly discussed in the local press.

Then the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported it had seen a paper trail that allegedly traces close to $700m from the troubled fund to Mr Najib's personal bank accounts.
Mr Najib is now facing calls to prove his assets are legal.

Read more on BBC.Com

Top Malaysian Graft Buster Says the Government Is ‘Meddling’ in Massive Corruption Probe

The ongoing scandal has galvanized popular hostility toward the government

For weeks, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has sat at the center of the largest corruption scandal in the country’s history, besieged by allegations that he personally pocketed around $700 million from a state development fund called 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Now, Najib’s government is being accused of obstructing an independent investigation into the scandal.

“There is — apparently — some meddling going on,” Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim, who chairs the advisory board to the anticorruption commission investigating the 1MDB case, said in an interview with the BBC. “I think that … there has been interference, and I think it is unfortunate. It was ill-advised on the part of the government to have made all these changes while the investigation was ongoing.”

Read more on Time.Com

Investigators Believe Money Flowed to Malaysian Leader Najib’s Accounts Amid 1MDB Probe

Malaysian investigators scrutinizing a controversial government investment fund have traced nearly $700 million of deposits into what they believe are the personal bank accounts of Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib Razak, according to documents from a government probe.

The investigation documents mark the first time Mr. Najib has been directly connected to the probes into state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB.

Mr. Najib, who founded 1MDB and heads its board of advisors, has been under growing political pressure over the fund, which amassed $11 billion in debt it is struggling to repay.

The government probe documents what investigators believe to be the movement of cash among government agencies, banks and companies linked to 1MDB before it ended up in Mr. Najib’s personal accounts. Documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal include bank transfer forms and flow charts put together by government investigators that reflect their understanding of the path of the cash.

The original source of the money is unclear and the government investigation doesn’t detail what happened to the money that went into Mr. Najib’s personal accounts.

“The prime minister has not taken any funds for personal use,” said a Malaysian government spokesman. “The prime minister’s political opponents, unwilling to accept his record or the facts, continue to try to undermine him with baseless smears and rumours for pure political gain.”

More on The Wall Street Journal 

Malaysia’s 1MDB Delays Loan Payment Again

Malaysia’s 1MDB Delays Loan Payment Again

KUALA LUMPUR—Malaysian state-owned investment firm 1Malaysia Development Bhd. missed another deadline to repay a $550 million loan over the weekend, although people familiar with the matter say it is edging closer to sealing a financing arrangement with local tycoon Ananda Krishnan to help pay off the debt.

Source : WSJ