- Title: Malaysian court to deliver verdict of 1MDB scandal involving ex-PM Najib Razak
- Date: 23rd August 2022
- Summary: ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** PHOTOGRAPHERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) THEN-MALAYSIAN POLICE COMMERCIAL CRIMES INVESTIGATION CHIEF, AMAR SINGH, SAYING: "I think this is the biggest seizure in Malaysian history." KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (FILE - JULY 4, 2018) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF KUALA LUMPUR COURT A $250 million luxury yacht linked to the 1MDB scandal arrived at Port Klang on August 7, 2018, months after it was first seized by Indonesian authorities. The Cayman Islands-flagged yacht, named the Equanimity, was seized at the request of U.S. authorities. PORT KLANG, SELANGOR STATE, MALAYSIA (FILE - AUGUST 7, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SUPERYACHT EQUANIMITY CRUISING INTO PORT SIGN ON SIDE OF SUPERYACHT READING (English): "EQUANIMITY" SUPERYACHT DOCKED, SPECIAL POLICE FORCE ON INFLATABLE BOAT Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor was charged with 17 offences, including money laundering, on October 4, 2018. She pleaded not guilty to all charges. KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (FILE - OCTOBER 4, 2018) (REUTERS) FORMER MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER NAJIB RAZAK'S WIFE, ROSMAH MASNOR, EXITING VEHICLE ROSMAH WALKING TOWARDS COURTHOUSE Najib was found guilty of corruption and sentenced in July 2020 to 12 years in jail in the first trial. KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (FILE - JULY 28, 2020) (REUTERS) NAJIB PREPARING TO GIVE STATEMENT (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER, NAJIB RAZAK SAYING: "Definitely not the end of the world, because there's a process of appeal, and we hope that we would be successful there." In October 2020, Goldman Sachs agreed to pay nearly $3 billion to settle a probe into its role in the 1MDB scandal, and its Malaysian unit pleaded guilty to violating foreign bribery laws. NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS) GOLDMAN SACHS HEADQUARTERS / PEOPLE ENTERING BUILDING PEOPLE ENTERING BUILDING
- Embargoed: 6th September 2022 08:58
- Keywords: 1MDB Goldman Sachs Jho Low Malaysia Najib Razak Scandal corruption
- Location: KUALA LUMPUR, PUTRAJAYA, PORT KLANG, MALAYSIA / SINGAPORE / WASHINGTON D.C., NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: KUALA LUMPUR, PUTRAJAYA, PORT KLANG, MALAYSIA / SINGAPORE / WASHINGTON D.C., NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: Various
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
- Reuters ID: LVA007948219082022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Former Malaysia premier Najib Razak said on Tuesday (August 23) his chances of success at appealing a 12-year jail sentence over a corruption conviction have slowly eroded. Najib was facing a 12-year jail sentence linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) financial scandal.
Najib had started his final attempt on August 15 to set aside his conviction in a corruption case linked to the 1MDB scandal. He had replaced his legal team just three weeks prior.
Najib, who was convicted in 2020, has pleaded not guilty to dozens of charges over the alleged theft of $4.5 billion from state fund 1MDB, a state fund he co-founded as premier in 2009.
He has denied taking any money for personal gain and had sacked his deputy, as well as ministers who had questioned him as he sought to contain the 1MDB scandal.
The case, which has also implicated officials and financial institutions around the world, has since been widely seen as a test of the nation's resolve to stamp out corruption and which could have big political implications.
Protests erupted when allegations arose in 2015 following a report that claimed investigators looking into the firm found $681 million had been transferred to Najib's personal bank account.
Following the allegations, Malaysia's attorney-general cleared Najib of the offences, stating the $681 million was a gift from the royal family in Saudi Arabia.
Protests continued, and after Najib was ousted as Prime Minister following a general election in May 2018, police raided Najib's private residence, seizing 284 boxes containing designer handbags and dozens of bags filled with cash and jewellery amounting to more than $245 million.
The scandal has also ensnared Hollywood stars such as Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio, whose charitable foundations received donations from 1MDB.
A Hollywood production company was accused in a U.S. civil lawsuit of using $100 million that prosecutors said had been diverted from 1MDB to finance DiCaprio's 2013 film, "The Wolf of Wall Street", in which DiCaprio starred.
In October 2020, Goldman Sachs and its Malaysia subsidiary also pleaded guilty to U.S. Department of Justice charges over its role in Malaysia's 1MDB corruption scandal, paying nearly $3 billion to settle the charges over its role in the scandal.
(Production: Ebrahim Harris, Angie Teo, Zahra Matarani) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None