Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib was charged with 25 charges and granted bail pending trial
According to Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao, former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib was charged for the third time on the 20th. This time, he was charged with as many as 25 counts, including 21 counts of money laundering and 4 counts of corruption, involving a total of 6.6 billion ringgit, which is the highest amount involved since Najib was charged.
According to reports, on the 20th, it took the court personnel 35 minutes to read all the allegations against Najib. Najib, 65, said he understood all the charges, pleaded not guilty, and requested a court hearing. The court later approved Najib’s bail pending trial and allowed him to "pay in installments" to pay a bail of RM3.5 million.
Najib was arrested on the afternoon of the 19th, and the court only started to deal with the case on the afternoon of the 20th. This made all parties concerned whether the court had time to handle the bail procedure. After the court finally approved Najib's bail pending trial, it meant that he could go home instead of spending the night in the detention center.
However, Najib looked solemn when he walked out of the courthouse on the 20th, not as relaxed as the past two times. When he answered media inquiries outside the courtroom, he once again cried out injustice. He said: "It is well known that the issue of RM2.6 billion donation has been abused to discredit me. This court case will be an opportunity for me to restore my reputation and prove my innocence. I am not a thief."
This time, in accordance with Malaysia’s “Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001,” Najib was charged with 21 charges, including 9 charges of collecting illegal funds, 5 charges of using illegal funds, and 7 charges of transferring illegal funds to others.
The other four corruption offences were brought under the "Anti-Corruption Commission Act". The corruption charges involved Najib's role in the establishment of a Malaysia Development Co., Ltd. and his instructing the 1MDB board to purchase 1 billion shares of Saudi Petroleum Company for US$1 billion.
After Gibb was first arrested on July 4 this year, he was charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of embezzling SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB, of 42 million ringgit. He was charged with 3 additional crimes of money laundering on August 8, plus 25 crimes on the 20th, resulting in a total of 32 crimes.