Court rules on appeal by former Malaysian Prime Minister appealed against 1MDB | Corruption Issues

Najib Razak says he does not know where the money ends up in his bank account.

A Malaysian court is due to deliver a verdict on Wednesday on the actions of former Prime Minister Najib Razak against his conviction for corruption in the first case involving a multi-billion dollar scam at the 1MDB state fund.

Najib, whose term as prime minister ended with a defeat in the 2018 elections found guilty of the 42 million ($ 9.88m) diversion of SRC International, 1MDB division, entered its bank account in July last year, and is set to 12 years in prison.

A 68-year-old boy was allowed to be at risk request.

A court ruling comes as Najib seeks to return to a country that has been traversed by three prime ministers since then 1 MDB scandal brought down his government. He is still popular within the United Malay National Organization (UMNO), which has now returned to power after being defeated in 2018.

In recent days, Najib and his legal team have demanded new evidence, and on Tuesday they asked for a suspension because a member of the group tested positive for COVID-19. The judge rejected the request, denying the request to accept new evidence in an online case.

Seven of the cases in this case involve cases of abuse of power, embezzlement and breach of trust.

In reaching his verdict last year, Judge Mohamad Nazlan Ghazali said Najib, who was prime minister and finance minister at the time of the crime, “did what was allowed” by accepting the loan, which later became prime minister. money sent to his account.

He said Najib had “benefited” from the credit agreement, and that security had failed to cast doubt on the abuse of power.

At the time of the appeal, security officials said Najib was unaware that the money went into his account or came from the SRC. He further alleged that Najib was misled by Malaysian financier Jho Low and other 1MDB officials to believe that the money in his account came from the Saudi royal family.

Low, whose whereabouts are unknown, has denied the allegations.

The three-judge panel of the appellate court is due to start at 9am (01:00 GMT).

The U.S. Department of Justice says $ 4.5bn in government spending was cut from 1MDB during Najib’s tenure.

The former Prime Minister has received more than $ 1bn of 1MDB, according to his opponents, and is facing 42 counts of harassment.

Najib is the first Malaysian leader to be found guilty of corruption.

He could appeal Wednesday’s appeal in a higher court, if the judges ruled in favor of the original ruling.