Former Malaysian prime minister charged with corruption

Najib Razak.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was charged in court Wednesday with criminal breach of trust and corruption.

He was arrested Tuesday over a suspicious transfer of $10.4 million into his bank accounts from SRC International, a former unit of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state investment fund that he founded. U.S. investigators say Najib's associates looted billions from the 1MDB. The scandal led to Najib's shocking election defeat less than two months ago, and his arrest capped a rapid fall from grace.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.