No graft charges for ex-leader

MALAYSIA: FORMER PREMIER JAILED FOR BILLIONS PILFERED IN OTHER CASES AGAINST HIM

- Kuala Lumpur

Corruption charges in one of several cases linked to the scandal-wracked Malaysian 1MDB sovereign wealth fund against jailed ex-prime minister Najib Razak was dropped yesterday, his lawyer said.

Najib is in jail after being convicted in one of five cases related to 1MDB from which billions of dollars had been allegedly pilfered. He will face another trial from 2 December.

The charges dropped yesterday relates to payments of 6.6 billion ringgit (about R26.8 billion) allegedly made to Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Company.

"The court correctly exercised its jurisdiction to discharge our client of the charges," his lawyer, Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee, said.

"The decision today was based on the nondisclosure of critical documents, six years from the initial charges being read, that are relevant to our client's preparation of his defence," Farhan said.