Malaysia’s jailed former leader Najib Razak will begin his defence this week against corruption charges tied to more than US$500 million in alleged bribes, and argue to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest.
The former prime minister, already serving a six-year jail term for corruption related to the plunder of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, faces several other cases linked to the financial scandal that led to his defeat in 2018 elections.
At the High Court on Monday, the 71-year-old will start his defence against four counts of abuse of power linked to 2.27 billion ringgit (US$510 million) in alleged bribes and 21 counts of money laundering.
The case involves Tanore Finance Corp, which US authorities have said was used to siphon money from 1MDB.
Najib issued an apology in October that the 1MDB scandal happened during his tenure, but maintained he did not know about illegal transfers from the now-defunct state fund.
If convicted, Najib faces hefty fines and sentences of up to 20 years for each count of abuse of power.
Najib’s lead lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, has said they were “more determined” than ever to fight the case.
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