Malaysian PM cleared of wrongdoing in $700 million scandal

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak’s has been cleared of any wrongdoing after $700m was found in his private bank accounts. The country’s attorney general said it was a personal donation from Saudi Arabia’s royal family, and cleared him of any criminal actvity. The announcement capped months of uncertainty for Najib, who has been fighting intense pressure to resign over the financial scandal in his biggest political crisis since he took power in 2009. But the announcement by Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali did not clear up the mystery over the money as he did not say why the Saudi royals made the donation or give details on what the money was to have been used for.

I am satisfied that there is no evidence to show that the donation was a form of gratification given corruptly.

Attorney General Mohamed Apandi

Apandi said investigations by the country’s anti-corruption agency showed that no criminal offence was committed as the $681 million transferred into Najib’s accounts between March and April 2013 was “given without any consideration” by the Saudi royal family as a personal donation. He said Najib returned $620 million to the Saudi royal family in August 2013 as the money wasn’t utilised. Opposition politician Tony Pua slammed Apandi’s decision, saying the fact it was a personal donation does not rule out corrupt motives or transaction. Pua said Apandi provided no new or convincing information to support his decision.

Malaysia