This archive report was first published on 11 November 2019.
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's first trial over the 1MDB scandal has reached a significant milestone, with a High Court judge ruling that the case is strong enough to proceed and Najib should enter his defence.
The ruling, made on Monday, comes after prosecutors finished presenting their evidence in August. The case centres on the transfer of 42 million ringgit ($10.1 million) from a former 1MDB unit, SRC International, into Najib's bank account.
Najib, 66, denies any wrongdoing and has been arrested and charged with dozens of counts linked to the looting of the investment vehicle.
Prosecutors argued that Najib acted like an 'emperor' in overseeing massive graft at the former 1MDB unit, while his defence team claimed that the bulk of evidence does not lead to 'any finding of culpability' on Najib's part.
The case is one of several linked to 1MDB, with Najib facing four charges of corruption and three money-laundering counts. Each charge of corruption carries a maximum jail term of 20 years, and each money-laundering count is punishable by a term of up to 15 years.
US authorities believe $4.5 billion was looted from 1MDB, with Najib's second and most significant trial centring on allegations he illicitly obtained over $500 million from the fund.
