Malaysia arrests former PM Najib Razak, charges expected

Malaysian anti-corruption agents arrested former prime minister Najib Razak on Tuesday following a probe into how money went missing from a state fund he founded almost a decade ago, and authorities said he would be charged in court on Wednesday.

Najib's arrest comes nearly two months after his coalition's stunning rejection by voters in a May 9 general election.

A government task force probing alleged theft and money laundering at the 1MDB state investment fund said Najib's arrest was linked to a suspicious transfer of $10.6 million (42 million ringgit) into his bank account from SRC International, a former 1MDB unit, using multiple intermediary companies.

It said in a brief statement that Najib will be brought to court on Wednesday to be charged, but didn't give details of the charges against him.

Authorities picked Najib up from his home after serving him with a remand order, two sources close to the family said. 

A Najib spokesman did not immediately have a comment. 

Najib has consistently denied wrongdoing in dealings with 1MDB, which is short for 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

TRT World spoke with Zan Azlee in Kuala Lumpur for more details.

'Almost perfect case'

Since his shock election loss to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in May, Najib has been barred from leaving the country, quizzed by the anti-corruption agency and had his personal and family houses searched as part of the 1MDB probe.

Police have also seized jewellery and valuables valued at more than $272 million (1.1 billion ringgit) from properties linked to Najib.

Mahathir said in an interview last month that embezzlement and bribery with government money were among the charges that Malaysia was looking to bring against Najib, adding they had "an almost perfect case" against him.

Founded by Najib in 2009, 1MDB is being investigated in at least six countries for alleged money laundering and corruption.

Civil lawsuits filed by the US Department of Justice allege that nearly $4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB. 

Investigation on Red Granite 

The anti-corruption agency earlier Tuesday questioned Riza Aziz, Najib's stepson and a Hollywood film producer, as it stepped up its probe of 1MDB. Riza did not speak to reporters on his arrival at the anti-graft office.

US investigators say Riza's company, Red Granite Pictures Inc., used money stolen from 1MDB to finance Hollywood films including the Martin Scorsese-directed "The Wolf of Wall Street." Red Granite in March agreed to pay the US government $60 million to settle claims that it benefited from the 1MDB scandal.

The civil suit against Red Granite was part of an effort to recover some of the $4.5 billion that US prosecutors say was stolen from 1MDB. They say hundreds of millions from 1MDB landed in Najib's bank accounts.

The 1MDB government task force this week said 408 bank accounts involving funds of nearly 1.1 billion ringgit ($272 million) had been frozen. It said the accounts, belonging to 81 people and 55 companies, are thought to have received funds from 1MDB between 2011 and 2015.