Ex-Malaysian PM Najib Arrested in Graft Probe

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been arrested, Malaysia’s anti-corruption task force told the ABC, amid an investigation into how billions of dollars went missing from a state fund he founded almost a decade ago.

Authorities picked Najib up from his home after serving him with a remand order, two sources close to the family said.

Charges, including embezzlement and bribery with government money, were expected to be handed down early Wednesday morning.

Najib was arrested at his Kuala Lumpur home at 2:35 p.m. (local time) on Tuesday, sources said.

Najib has been under investigation over the misappropriation of billions of dollars from Malaysia’s 1MDB infrastructure fund.

He has consistently denied wrongdoing claiming no knowledge of how the money had found its way into his personal account.

But raids of homes linked to the former prime minister recovered $370 million in cash and goods.

It took three days, six counting machines and 22 officials from the central bank to count the seized cash, totaling $39.2 million.

Millions of dollars worth of jewelry, handbags, watches and other items were also seized.

  Family Under Suspicion

Najib’s wife is also under investigation and his stepson, Riza Aziz, has also been brought in for questioning earlier along with a Hollywood film producer, as part of the probe into alleged theft and money-laundering. Riza was solemn as he arrived at the anti-graft office and did not speak to reporters.

US investigators say Riza’s company, Red Granite Pictures Inc., used money stolen from 1MDB to finance Hollywood films including the Martin Scorsese-directed the Wolf of Wall Street.

Red Granite agreed in March to pay the US Government $60 million to settle claims it benefited from the 1MDB scandal.

Since his shock election loss to Mahathir Mohamad in May, Najib has been barred from leaving the country, quizzed by the anti-corruption agency and had his personal and family houses searched as part of the 1MDB probe.

Mahathir said in an interview last month that embezzlement and bribery with government money were among the charges that Malaysia was looking to bring against Najib, adding they had “an almost perfect case” against him.

Founded by Najib in 2009, 1MDB is being investigated in at least six countries for alleged money laundering and corruption.

Civil lawsuits filed by the US Department of Justice allege that nearly $4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB.