KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 01 (AFP): Malaysia's jailed ex-leader Najib Razak will begin his defence this week against graft charges tied to more than $500 million in alleged bribes, and argue to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest.
The former prime minister, already serving a six-year jail term for corruption related to the plunder of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, faces several other cases linked to the financial scandal that led to his defeat in 2018 elections.
At the High Court on Monday, the 71-year-old will start his defence against four counts of abuse of power linked to 2.27 billion ringgit ($510 million) in alleged bribes and 21 counts of money laundering.
The case involves Tanore Finance Corp, which US authorities have said was used to siphon money from 1MDB. Najib issued an apology in October that the 1MDB scandal happened during his tenure, but maintained he had no knowledge of illegal transfers from the now-defunct state fund.
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