Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali cleared Najib of any criminal
offences or corruption on Tuesday, and said he was closing
investigations into a murky multi-million-dollar funding scandal
that his opponents had hoped would bring him down.
Najib was buffeted last year by allegations of graft and
mismanagement at the debt-laden state fund 1Malaysia Development
Berhad (1MDB) and by a revelation that about $681 million was
deposited into his personal bank account.
Apandi said the $681 million transfer to Najib's account was a gift
from Saudi Arabia's royal family, and added that no further action
needed to be taken on the matter.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said it would submit
Apandi's decision to an Operations Review Panel, which reviews cases
where the public prosecutor has not pursued charges, and another
special panel to be appointed.
It said in a statement it would also seek a review of another
decision by Apandi, to close a case against SRC International, a
former 1MDB subsidiary that was investigated for alleged
misappropriation of funds.
Apandi was not immediately available for comment.
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Last month, the MACC said it had sent two reports to the
attorney-general's office about its investigations into the transfer
of money into Najib's bank accounts and the affairs of state fund
1MDB.
The anti-corruption agency did not reveal its findings or say
whether any wrongdoing was involved, saying any decision to take
further action would be up to the attorney-general.
(Reporting by Praveen Menon, A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Robert
Birsel)
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