A Malaysian court has ordered former Prime Minister Najib Razak to present his defense against seven counts of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power in a case linked to a scandal surrounding state fund 1MDB.

Najib has pleaded not guilty to three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money laundering and one count of abuse of power for allegedly receiving illegal transfers of 42 million ringgit (10.14 million U.S. dollars) from SRC International, a former 1MDB unit.

Najib said he would testify in his defense. This will enable prosecutors to cross-examine him for the first time.

"SRC has been wrongfully deprived of the 42 million," Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali said in his ruling. "As such, I now call upon the accused to enter his defense on all seven charges."

Prosecutors wrapped up their SRC case against Najib after receiving testimony from 57 witnesses. In his closing statement, Attorney-General Tommy Thomas said Najib had orchestrated graft at 1MDB "like an emperor."

Election promise on track

The ruling was expected by legal experts and Malaysians alike, Professor James Chin, Director of the Asia Institute Tasmania at the University of Tasmania told CGTN.

It is also a huge win for the ruling Malaysian government who won in a landslide election in 2018, with current Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad promising to investigate 1MDB, and arrest 'Malaysia Official 1', the alleged official that received some of the stolen money who was later confirmed to be Najib.

The ruling also comes at a time when economic pressures are weighing on people's minds, and casting doubts over the current government's ability to fulfill its election promises.

"So far, Najib has been claiming that everything is a political persecution, they don't have any evidence. So in this case, it has been proven that the evidence is there that we must proceed to a full trial," said Chin.

Other 1MDB charges

Najib, who lost a general election last year, still faces dozens of criminal charges over accusations that 4.5 billion U.S. dollars was stolen from 1MDB, which he co-founded in 2009.

The amounts involved in Najib's first trial are small, however, compared to those in his second and most significant one, which centers on allegations he illicitly obtained over 500 million U.S. dollars from 1MDB.

"The money trail for SRC was basically a loan from a Malaysian government pension fund. And it was out of the same pension fund directly into Najib's account. The 1MDB one was much harder to prove because the money went around the world," said Chin.

The money was allegedly used to fuel a worldwide spending spree by Najib and his inner circle – including suspected mastermind, fugitive financier Jho Low – with looted cash spent on items ranging from a super-yacht to high-end real estate.

Following the election, police discovered valuables, including cash, jewelry and luxury handbags worth up to 273 million U.S. dollars in properties linked to Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor.

(Former Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak leaves Kuala Lumpur High Court in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia April 3, 2019. /VCG photo)

(With input from Reuters and AFP)