1MDB – The Biggest Political Scandal You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

How was the scandal exposed?

Whisperings of the scandal were reported in various papers around the world but the work of British journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown, sister-in-law of former PM Gordon Brown.

As the scandal broke, Razak’s government responded in 2018 by proposing a law that ostensibly targeted fake news but was widely condemned as an attempt to crack down on dissent ahead of a general election.

In a blog for HuffPost UK, Rewcastle-Brown wrote:

“As I found myself in the thick of the biggest investigative story of my career, I suffered state-backed computer hacking of my systems. Myself and my family were stalked by private security companies; my house was under surveillance.

“I was the target of death threats and numerous criminal charges; a heavily funded PR operation waged online hate campaigns against me. The Malaysian government of the time tried, unsuccessfully, to get Interpol to arrest and extradite me to stand trial for ‘activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy.’”

Undeterred, Rewcastle-Brown, persisted in her reporting and managed to shed light on the scandal.

“As I unravelled the story, I was able to demonstrate how several major banks had got involved in helping raise and transport the money via the offshore system into the personal bank accounts of Najib, Jho and Riza, along with a number of co-conspirators.”

So what’s happening now?

Najib was voted out of power last year amid widespread public anger over the scandal.

After the shock election loss, Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor were barred from leaving Malaysia and scrutiny of their luxurious lifestyle uncovered nearly $300million (£246million) worth of goods and cash at properties linked to him.

Rosmah, known for her designer handbags and jewellery, has also been charged with corruption. She has pleaded not guilty.

In his second trial on Wednesday, Najib faces 21 charges of money laundering and four charges of abuse of power for allegedly receiving illegal transfers of at least 2.3billion ringgit ($550.8million) between 2011 and 2014.

The prosecution said Najib used 1MDB as a vehicle “to obtain gratification for himself”.

He has accused Malaysia’s new government of seeking political vengeance and vowed to clear his name in his trial.

Lawyers are expected to submit closing arguments in that case in October, with the judge to rule by November 11.