Kuala Lumpur, July 28: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Rajak on Tuesday was convicted by a court after he was found guilty in first of several corruption trials linked to the multibillion-dollar looting of the 1MDB state investment fund. The bench found Rajak guilty of all the seven charges.

Announcing the verdict, Judge Mohamad Nazlan Ghazali said, as quoted by Associated Press, "I find the accused guilty and convict the accused of all seven charges." The court announced its verdict after spending two hours to read out the ruling. Meanwhile, Najib has promised to appeal and had said that rogue bankers misled him. Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu's Graft Trial Resumes.

The recent trails include Rajak being involved for abuse of power, three charges of criminal breach of trust and three money laundering charges. Announcing the verdict, the judge had said that Najib failed to raise reasonable doubt, while the prosecutors had established beyond a reasonable doubt that the former PM misappropriated the money for his use.

The former Malaysian PM faces 42 charges in five separate graft trials that are linked to 1MDB saga and may be sentenced to several years in prison. Earlier in 2008, his Malay party was driven by public anger over the 1MDB scandal and was ousted from power. However, his party came in power as a key player in the ruling alliance.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 28, 2020 10:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).