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Malaysian PM allegedly siphoned off more than $1 billion

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The amount allegedly siphoned off from state funds by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak could exceed $1 billion, a few hundred times more than initially supposed, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Articles in the Journal and Malaysian portal Sarawak Report revealed in June last year, Najib received $681 million from the funds of 1Malaysia Development Berhard, or 1MDB.

Najib denied the accusations, and after an investigation by the anticorruption commission, he was absolved of the charges by the public prosecutor in January, as the money received was claimed to be a donation from the Saudi royal family.

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According to the new media report, based on information from three unnamed sources party to the transfers and an international investigation in the case, the amount deviated could exceed $1 billion.

The Journal says the money was transferred through a complex web of transactions and most of the amount came from 1MBD, which denied Tuesday having made any deposits to the accounts of the prime minister.

It further accused the Journal of repeating unfounded accusations not based on conclusive proof, and criticized using anonymous sources in their allegations.

The 1MDB fund was set up by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 to help strengthen the country’s economy, but has been dogged by controversy over billions of dollars of debt and alleged financial mismanagement.

The scandal led to an uproar within the government too, which in July overhauled the Executive and replaced thenDeputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who had been publicly criticized for poor management of the corruption case.

Muhyiddin was also suspended from the ruling United Malays National Organisation, from which former Prime Minister Mahatir Mohamad stepped out Monday, alleging the party is covering up Najib’s corruption.