Former Malaysian PM Najib Razak charged with criminal breach of trust

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was charged on Wednesday with three counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of using his position for gratification as part of a probe into missing money from state fund 1MDB.

The charges are in connection with how 42 million ringgit ($10 million) went from SRC International, a former 1MDB unit, into Najib's personal bank account.

SRC is the initial focus of the Malaysian investigators as all the suspicious transactions involving the firm were made through Malaysian entities, unlike other 1MDB related transactions that went through foreign banks and companies.

A spokesman for Najib said on Tuesday that the SRC charges and the 1MDB investigations against the former leader were "politically motivated", and that Najib will contest these charges and clear his name in court.

Since his loss at the polls to mentor-turned-foe Mahathir, Najib has been barred from leaving the country and had millions of dollars of items seized from properties linked to his family.

In a pre-recorded message posted on Twitter after his arrest, Najib said not all the accusations against him and his family were true.

"Let investigations be carried out. I have not had a chance to defend myself," he said.