Malaysia drops 1MDB-linked charges against ex-PM Najib, treasury official

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian court on Wednesday (Nov 27) allowed corruption charges linked to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal filed against jailed former prime minister Najib Razak and the former treasury chief to be dropped, their lawyers said.

Najib and former treasury secretary-general Irwan Serigar Abdullah were charged in 2018 with six counts of criminal breach of trust involving government funds worth 6.6 billion ringgit (US$1.48 billion), which officials have said were related to a settlement agreement between 1MDB and Abu Dhabi state fund International Petroleum Investment Company.

The pair consistently denied wrongdoing.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court granted their bid for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal, due to procedural delays and the failure of the prosecution to disclose key documents, their lawyers said.

"The court correctly exercised its jurisdiction to discharge our client of the charges, consonant with the law," Najib's lawyer Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee said in a text message.

A discharge not amounting to an acquittal means the prosecution will not prosecute the accused for the offence for the time being but can do so in the future. 

The judge said that the court's decision did not “prejudice” the prosecution as they could recharge Najib and Irwan. 

”This case was registered in 2018 but the trial cannot proceed even when trial dates have been set many times. This is an inordinate delay,” he ruled.

Najib had sought to obtain a permanent stay on the proceedings of the case, reported The Star. 

However, this was dismissed by the judge as there was no formal application from the former prime minister's lead counsel. 

Najib, who helped found 1MDB when he was premier in 2009, was found guilty of corruption and money laundering in a case linked to the scandal and sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2022, though the term was later halved by a pardon's board chaired by Malaysia's king.

He last month apologised for his role in mishandling the 1MDB scandal, although he maintained he had no knowledge of any illegal transfers from the state fund.

Najib has also been pushing to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, and has filed a case to compel the government to confirm the existence of a royal order that he says would allow him to do so.

Anwar's government said last month it would introduce a law allowing house arrest for some offences next year, although it denied that was aimed at getting Najib or other politicians accused of corruption out of jail.