Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was charged on Friday with corruption and money laundering in a case of alleged embezzlement of public funds intended to counter the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 75-year-old who led the Malaysian government for 17 months in 2020 and 2021, at the height of the pandemic in Malaysia, has been served four counts, according to an AFP journalist present at the meeting. court.
Muhyiddin Yassin, who heads an opposition coalition against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, is accused of abusing his office to obtain bribes totaling RM232.5 million ( 51.4 million USD) for the political party he currently leads, Bersatu.
The bribes were paid by companies that received preferential treatment for projects funded by Covid-19 funds, investigators said.
He is also the subject of two counts of money laundering for a sum of 195 million ringgits paid into Bersatu's accounts.
plead not guilty
The indictment comes the day after his interrogation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) after which the official was arrested.
Muhyiddin Yassin pleaded not guilty to all charges and called for a trial.
He was released on bail but had to surrender his passport to justice.
He faces several decades in prison.
His supporters say the investigation is aimed at discrediting Bersatu ahead of national elections scheduled for July.
MACC froze Bersatu's bank accounts last month and two party officials have been indicted for corruption in connection with the economic stimulus package launched by Muhyiddin Yassin's government.
Muhyiddin Yassin had seen his career progress under the government of Najib Razak, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption in the 1MDB affair, the embezzlement of billions of dollars from a sovereign wealth fund.
But he then criticized the government for this affair and was dismissed in 2015. He then joined a party created by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and helped oust Najb Razak from power as well as his party, the UMNO (United Malaysian National Organization).
Then, in a political reversal which Malaysia is accustomed to, he joined the UMNO to become Prime Minister.
