Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will be charged on Wednesday with money laundering, the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission said on Tuesday. Razak was charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of corruption in a multi-million-dollar scandal last month.
The former prime minister has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and is out on bail. On Tuesday, Razak was summoned to the office of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, and appeared before it for about half an hour, ChannelNewsAsia reported.
He is scheduled to attend a pre-trial hearing in court on Wednesday. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in jail.
Razak had resisted demands to step down in 2015 despite reports of financial mismanagement at the government-owned company 1Malaysia Development Berhad, and allegations that he received $681 million (Rs 4,425 crore) in his personal bank account. After he lost the elections to his former mentor Mahathir Mohamad on May 9, Razak was barred from leaving the country and the case was reopened.
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