Najib Razak, former prime minister of Malaysia, has been arrested and will be charged on Wednesday morning, according to the task force investigating alleged government misuse of the country’s scandal-tarred state investment fund.
The arrest is the most significant milestone in a dramatic reversal of fortunes that has unfolded since the election of Mahathir Mohamad, the 92-year-old politician who inveighed against corruption before unseating his former protégé Mr Najib in May as head of an opposition alliance.
The escalating investigation into the investment fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad, has already prompted a ban on Mr Najib and his wife from leaving the country, a raid on his family properties, and the confiscation of assets whose value is estimated to be as high as $275m.