Former Malaysian PM Razak found guilty over 1MDB charges
Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been found guilty of all seven charges in the 1MDB scandal that has rocked the international financial world in recent years.
The former PM who held office from 2009 to 2018, who had pleaded not guilty to the charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power, is now set to face the rest of his life in jail.
Razak's case is the first of several multi-million dollar corruption trials set to take place and was the first big test of whether Malaysia's anti-corruption promises would be upheld.
Today's verdicts centred on 42 million ringgit ($10m, £7.7m) transferred from the 1MDB fund to Najib's private accounts.
Advisers
Najib says he was misled by financial advisers and that he was led to believe the funds in his accounts were donated by the Saudi royal family - rather than misappropriated from the state fund.
However the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled against him stating: "After considering all evidence in this trial, I find that the prosecution has successfully proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt," judge Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali told the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
Ahead of the hearing, Najib said he would fight on until the end, vowing to appeal against any guilty verdicts against him. "This is my chance to clear my name," he said in a statement on Facebook
Najib now has the right to appeal the verdict and is expected to remain out of custody until the process is complete.
As reported, financial giant Goldman Sachs has reached a $3.9bn (£3bn) settlement with the Malaysian government over the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal, relating to the bank's role in the corruption scandal at 1Malaysia Development Berhad, the country's sovereign wealth fund.
Settlement
The settlement includes a $2.5bn cash payout by Goldmans and a further guarantee to return at least "at least $1.4bn in proceeds from assets related to 1MDB seized by governmental authorities around the world," the company said in a statement.
The government of Malaysia has agreed to drop all criminal and regulatory proceedings in Malaysia involving the firm, including pending proceedings against subsidiaries of Goldman Sachs and certain current and former directors.
by Tanya at http://www.ifajobs.net
Daniel van Niekerk
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