Najib Razak arrested

International Desk: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been arrested in Kuala Lumpur, state media reported, as part of 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 ex-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-graft office and didn't 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 $60m to settle claims it benefited from the 1MDB scandal.

Source: Al Jazeera


risingbd/Dhaka/July 3, 2018/AI