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Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Former Malaysian PM Najib Razak sentenced to 12 years in prison

Malaysia’s High Court on Tuesday found Najib Razak guilty on all seven charges of money laundering, abuse of power and criminal breach of trust in the first case in a series of sovereign fund-linked corruption trials against him. 

Photo via @Reuters
  • Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak served as the 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. 
  • Born: July 23, 1953 (age 67 years), Malaysia
  • The former prime minister was voted out in a historic 2018 election amid public anger over allegations that $4.5 billion was stolen in a global scheme from the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) fund.

Background
- 1MDB was set up in 2009 and raised billions of dollars in bonds for use in investment projects
- The US Department of Justice said $4.5 billion was diverted to offshore bank accounts
- Malaysian authorities say at least $4.3 billion more is unaccounted for and that Razak illegally received more than $1 billion
- The verdict comes only days after Goldman Sachs reached a $3.9 billion settlement with Malaysia in return of dropping criminal charges against the bank

(Source: Reuters)

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