Malaysia drops 1MDB-related charges against ex-PM Najib, finance ministry official

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian court on Wednesday (Nov 27) allowed corruption charges linked to the multibillion-dollar scandal against jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak and the former finance ministry chief to be dropped, their lawyers said.

Najib and former Finance Ministry Secretary General Irwan Serigar Abdullah were indicted in 2018 on six counts of criminal breach of trust involving public funds worth 6.6 billion ringgit ($1.48 billion), which officials said they were related to a settlement agreement between 1MDB and Abu Dhabi. sovereign wealth fund International Petroleum Investment Company.

The pair consistently denied wrongdoing.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court granted their request for discharge, which does not amount to an acquittal, due to procedural delays and the prosecutor’s inability to make public key documents, their lawyers said.

“The court has properly exercised its jurisdiction to discharge our client from the charges, in accordance with the law,” Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee said in a text message.

A dismissal that does not amount to an acquittal means that the Public Prosecution Service will not prosecute the suspect for the criminal offense for the time being, but may do so in the future.

The judge said the court’s decision did not “bias” the prosecutor as they could charge Najib and Irwan.

“This case was registered in 2018, but the trial cannot proceed even though the trial dates have been fixed many times. This is an excessive delay,” he ruled.

Najib had tried to get a permanent delay in hearing the case, The Star reported.

However, this was rejected by the judge as there was no formal request from the former prime minister’s lead lawyer.