Najib Razak, Malaysia’s last prime minister, gestures as he leaves the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex in Malaysia, on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018.
Joshua Paul | Bloomberg | Getty Materializations
A Malaysian court on Monday postponed for a week the biggest of five trials linked to a multi-billion-dollar scam at state supply 1MDB and allegedly involving former prime minister Najib Razak.
Najib, who lost a general election last year, has been hit with 42 dishonest charges of graft and money laundering at 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and other state entities.
He has pleaded not guilty and chances the charges are politically motivated.
The hearing will now begin next Monday to allow time for the completion of a previous provisional that revolves around former 1MDB unit SRC International, a Kuala Lumpur High Court judge said.
“If you call more time, I can stand down or adjourn … but for now we will proceed on Monday and check again on (this) on Thursday,” Moderate Collin Lawrence Sequerah said.
1MDB, founded by Najib in 2009, is being investigated in at least six countries. The U.S. Department of Rightfulness says about $4.5 billion was misappropriated from the fund.
In the trial in Kuala Lumpur, Najib will comprise to fight 21 charges of money laundering and four of abuse of power for receiving illegal transfers of about 2.3 billion ringgit ($550.8 million) between 2011 and 2014.