(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been arrested in Kuala Lumpur, state media reported, as part of a probe into alleged theft and money laundering at the 1MDB state investment fund.
Najib’s family lawyer told Channel News Asia on Tuesday that the former leader would be charged for his role in the 1MDB scandal the next day.
Earlier on Tuesday, Malaysia’s anti-corruption agency questioned Riza Aziz, the stepson of Najib and a Hollywood film producer.
Alleged corruption at the 1MDB fund helped bring on the unexpected defeat of Najib’s coalition in the May 9 polls. The new government reopened investigations that were stifled while Najib was in office.
Riza was solemn as he arrived at the anti-corruption 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.
Al Jazeera’s Florence Looi, reporting from the capital, Kuala Lumpur, said Najib’s arrest is a “major development, but something that we had been expecting”.
