Malaysia's Najib to be charged with money laundering

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Malaysia's embattled former prime minister Najib Razak will be charged on Wednesday under a money-laundering act, the country's anti-corruption agency said, in connection with a multi-billion-dollar scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The agency asked him on Tuesday to appear at its office just one day ahead of his pre-trial hearing in court.

The former leader was questioned for about 45 minutes. In a statement soon after Najib left its office, the agency said he would be charged under the anti-money laundering act.

The charges are related to the SRC International case, a former unit of state fund 1MDB, it said in a statement, while Najib's spokesman declined to comment.

The 65-year-old former leader and his family have faced intense scrutiny since May when a shock election result brought his former mentor-turned-foe, 92-year-old Mahathir Mohamad, back to power.

Mohamad swiftly reopened an investigation into 1MDB and barred Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor from leaving the country.

Last month, Najib was arrested and charged in Malaysia with three counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of abuse of power related to an alleged transfer of 42 million ringgit (10.3 million US dollars) into his personal account from SRC International.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released after posting bail.

1MDB is being investigated by at least six countries, including Singapore, Switzerland and the US, over alleged money laundering and graft.

The US Department of Justice says an estimated 4.5 billion US dollars was misappropriated from 1MDB by high-level officials of the fund and their associates.

(With input from Reuters)