Malaysia’s ex-PM Najib charged with corruption

Najib Razak has been charged with corruption, a dramatic fall from grace for the former Malaysian prime minister two months after he lost office, reports BBC.

He faces three counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of abuse of power. He pleaded not guilty to all counts and has been released on bail.

Mr Najib has long been accused of pocketing $700m (£517m) from the state development fund 1MDB, which he set up. 

A new investigation began after his shock election loss in May. 

Mr Najib was arrested by anti-corruption authorities on Tuesday and spent the night in detention. 

In a video posted on Twitter a day earlier, he appealed to the public not to believe the reports, saying that not all of the accusations were true. "I have not had a chance to defend myself," he said.

The charges against him carry a maximum of 20 years imprisonment. 

The bail amount was set at 1m Malaysian ringgit ($250,000; £190,000).