Malaysia: Ex-premier Najib’s graft trial set for August

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - A trial of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on charges of corruption and money laundering will commence next month, local media reported on Monday.

The order came from Malaysian High Court after the country’s Attorney General Tommy Thomas sought postponement of the trial, according to Bernama news agency.

The former premier is accused of transferring 42 million Malaysian ringgits ($14 million) from SRC International, a subsidiary company of state fund 1MDB, into his personal bank accounts.

“This is the third postponement sought and this court is of the view that it cannot grant another postponement following the court practice directive,” said High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah.

“Hence the trial will commence on Aug 19 at 9 am,” the judge said.

Najib has pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power.

The prosecution has submitted over 3,000 pages of documents, including the minutes of meetings of SRC International and is calling 50 witnesses to testify during the entire trial.