Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s legal woes are mounting. He’s already in jail for corruption. But a court says he must now defend himself on 25 more charges.
A judge at the Kuala Lumpur High Court says evidence suggests Najib played a central role in 1MDB, a state fund rocked by a multi-billion-dollar scandal.
This time, he faces four counts of abuse of power to obtain more than 500 million dollars, and 21 counts of money laundering. Najib could be jailed for up to 20 years if found guilty.
Najib’s lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah expressed disappointment, saying, “My client feels extremely disappointed because we have put up arguments that we thought would, minimum, require serious consideration.”
Najib is already in jail for graft linked to 1MDB. His initial 12-year sentence was halved earlier this year by a pardons board chaired by Malaysia’s king.
Najib issued a public apology about the scandal last week. He also insists he was misled.