KUALA LUMPUR, (Reuters) – Malaysia’s attorney-general cleared Prime Minister Najib Razak of any criminal offences or corruption on Tuesday, 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.
But Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali said the transfer was a gift from Saudi Arabia’s royal family, adding that no further action needed to be taken on the matter.
Najib, who denied any wrongdoing and said he did not take any money for personal gain, welcomed the attorney general’s statement.
“The findings followed a thorough investigation by the relevant institutions, and he has confirmed what I have maintained all along: that no crime was committed,” Najib said in a statement.
Opposition party leaders denounced the finding, saying the appointment of the attorney-general by the prime minister in the midst of the crisis suggested a conflict of interest.
But analysts said it was a victory for Najib that would allow him to focus on winning the next election in 2018.
“The AG’s statement today pretty much allows the government to move on … As far as things are legally concerned, the prime minister is in the clear,” said Ibrahim Suffian, director of independent opinion polling firm Merdeka Center.
Although there were still a lot of people who would still be sceptical and critical of the government, he said.
Apandi told a news conference no criminal offence had been committed by Najib in relation to three investigations submitted by Malaysia’s anti-graft agency.
“I am satisfied with the findings that the funds were not a form of graft or bribery,” he said.
“There was no reason given as to why the donation was made to PM Najib, that is between him and the Saudi family,” he said.
The involvement of the Saudi royal family is an unexpected twist in the saga over the funds transfer and the troubles of 1MDB, whose advisory board Najib chairs.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had earlier said only that the funds were a political donation from an unidentified Middle Eastern benefactor.
Apandi said $620 million was returned to the donor in August 2013, about five months after the transfer, because it had not been utilised.
He did not clarify what happened to the remaining $61 million that was not returned or explain why it had taken so long for news of the return of the funds to be released.
‘UNITE AND MOVE ON’
Najib, the son of a former prime minister, enjoys the backing of most of the powerful division chiefs in the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party.
