Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is hardly lying low ahead of his corruption trial on charges related to the multibillion-dollar looting of the 1MDB state investment fund.

Oct. 4, 2018, file photo, former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, center, walks out of courtroom at Kuala Lumpur High Court in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (File photos: AP)

The trial set to begin Tuesday comes nine months after Najib's spectacular election defeat, which was spurred by voters' furor over the 1MDB scandal that is being investigated in the US and other countries.

He is charged with 42 counts of criminal breach of trust, graft, abuse of power and money laundering in one of Malaysia's biggest criminal trials.

Najib has denied wrongdoing. His lawyers are appealing Monday to delay his trial.

Cover image: July 4, 2018, file photo, former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, center, arrives at a court house in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.