Former Malaysian Prime Minister Arrested on Corruption Charges

Malaysian authorities announced that Najib Razak, the former Prime Minister of the country, has been arrested by the Anti-Corruption Commission and will face charges for his involvement in the embezzlement of millions of dollars from the national development fund. The Special Investigation Unit regarding theft and money laundering in the Malaysian Development Fund stated that Najib Razak's arrest is linked to a suspicious bank transfer of approximately $10 million from one of the fund's subsidiaries to his personal account. The unit mentioned in a brief statement that Mr. Razak will appear in court on Wednesday for the charges, but did not release details of the indictment against him. Najib Razak's arrest comes two months after his coalition suffered a heavy defeat in the parliamentary elections in May. The new Malaysian government has resumed investigations into financial abuses of the development fund that had been halted during Najib Razak's administration. Najib Razak and his wife, who have been questioned regarding their roles in financial corruption cases, have been banned from leaving the country for some time. Meanwhile, police have seized jewelry and other valuable items worth $272 million from properties belonging to Mr. Razak's family. Mr. Razak has denied any wrongdoing. According to the Associated Press, experts say that after Mr. Razak's electoral defeat, legal action and his arrest were inevitable. This indicates that the new Malaysian government is serious about addressing past abuses of power. Additionally, these actions are an attempt to restore Malaysia's reputation and a step towards clean governance. The Malaysian news agency Bernama reported that Najib Razak will face more than 10 charges related to abuse of power and financial corruption. According to this news agency, Tommy Thomas, the new Attorney General of Malaysia, will lead the prosecution in this case. The Anti-Corruption Commission expanded its investigation into financial abuses in the Malaysian Development Fund and on Tuesday interrogated Reza Aziz, Mr. Razak's stepson, who is a film producer in Hollywood. The U.S. Attorney's Office claims that Reza Aziz's company, Red Granite Pictures, used money stolen from the Malaysian Development Fund to finance films produced by this company in the U.S., including 'The Wolf of Wall Street.' This company agreed to pay a $60 million settlement in March this year to end a lawsuit by the U.S. Attorney's Office. The case against Red Granite Pictures is one of the actions to recover part of the $4.5 billion that, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, was stolen from the Malaysian Development Fund. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, hundreds of millions of dollars from this fund were deposited into Najib Razak's personal accounts. The Malaysian government recently announced that it has blocked more than 400 bank accounts belonging to 81 individuals and 55 companies that received money from the Malaysian Development Fund between 2011 and 2015.