Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been charged with three counts of money-laundering over claims he pocketed 42 million ringgit, or about 10 million US dollars. Razak pleaded not guilty, then posted bail for nearly 250-thousand dollars. The latest charges are linked to a multi-billion-dollar financial scandal that contributed to his election defeat in May. If found guilty, Razak could face life in prison. Our Rian Maelzer has more.

RIAN MAELZER KUALA LUMPUR "It was supposed to have been a relatively mundane pre-trial hearing to hammer out procedural issues. But that changed Tuesday evening."

Former Prime Minister Najib Razak was once again summoned to the anti-corruption commission to record a statement ahead of being charged Wednesday morning with three counts of money laundering.

That's on top of the three charges of criminal breach of trust and one charge of abuse of power he already faces.

RIAN MAELZER KUALA LUMPUR "It's all in connection with some $10 million dollars the prosecution contends was diverted from a subsidiary of 1MDB into Najib's bank account."

It comes a day after the superyacht, Equanimity, landed in Malaysia. Indonesian authorities seized it at the request of the US Department of justice, who contend it was bought by the financier at the heart of the 1MDB scandal, Jho Low, using money siphoned off from the fund.

MUHAMMAD SHAFEE ABDULLAH LEAD LAWYER FOR NAJIB RAZAK "It has nothing to do with the yacht. I hope they have not arranged the coincidence of the yacht arriving in Port Klang with the decision to charge my client today with three charges which are insignificant. And for that reason, there is no increase in bail, nothing."

RIAN MAELZER KUALA LUMPUR "The charges to date are not related to the larger scandal involving billions of dollars allegedly plundered from 1MDB, or to the valuables and cash seized from properties linked to Najib."

That investigation will take longer to reach its conclusion since it involves a far more complex web of transactions spanning several countries, including the US, Singapore and Switzerland. Rian Maelzer, CGTN, Kuala Lumpur.