Singapore (People’s Daily) - Malaysia’s former premier Najib Razak pleaded not guilty on Thursday to 21 counts of money laundering and 4 counts of abuse of power, the most number of charges leveled against him so far, media reported.
Najib Razak, Malaysia's former prime minister, left, arrives at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018. (Photo: VCG)
He was slapped with the new charges at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court in connection with the $681 million that was transferred into his personal account. The money is believed to be from state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
The 21 counts of money laundering “include 9 counts for receiving illegal monies, 5 counts for using illegal monies and 7 counts for transferring illegal monies to other entities”, deputy police chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim said in a statement earlier.
The charges mean Najib could face up to 15 years in jail and a fine of no less than 5 times the value of the proceeds of unlawful activities.
For the 4 counts of abuse of power, he could face a jail term not exceeding 20 years and a fine of not less than 5 times the value of the gratification in the offense.
With the charges on Thursday, the former premier now faces a total of 32 charges.
He had appeared in court in July and August, when he received seven charges for criminal breach of trust, bribery and money laundering. He also pleaded not guilty to those charges.