Ex-Malaysian PM Muhyiddin Charged With Corruption 3 Months After Losing Polls

Three months after losing polls, former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been charged with abuse of power and money laundering.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin

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New Delhi: Just three months after losing a closely fought and divisive general election, former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Friday was charged with abuse of power and money laundering over projects launched during his tenure, reported Reuters. Muhyiddin lost the general election to Anwar Ibrahim, the current PM of Malaysia. 

Muhyiddin, however, has always denied the charges, alleging they were politically motivated. With this fresh development, political tensions are expected to rise in the country. 

The former Malaysia PM led the country for 17 months between 2020 and 2021. With the fresh charges, he has become the second Malaysian leader to be charged with crimes after losing power, added Reuters in the report. 

According to Reuters, the prosecution accused Muhyiddin of abusing his position as prime minister to receive bribes of 232.5 million ringgit ($51.44 million) in a bank account belonging to his party, Bersatu. The case was being heard at a Kuala Lumpur sessions court. 

Muhyiddin was charged with four counts of abuse of power and two counts of money laundering and he pleaded not guilty to all six charges. He has previously said that all these accusations were "political persecution" of the opposition. 

Now, the former premier faces up to 20 years in jail if found guilty of the charges levelled against him. He will also be subjected to a heavy financial penalty, the report added. 

He was earlier arrested for a brief period on Thursday after being released on bail by a court. He was also ordered to surrender his passport. Reuters mentioned that the case will be heard next on May 26th. 

What’s The Case All About? 

Former premier Muhyiddin and his party have been facing graft investigations since losing the national election in November. The party's bank accounts were frozen by the anti-graft body and two leaders were charged with bribery, Reuters said in the report. 

Following the probe, the ex-PM has also been banned from leaving the country. 

Prime Minister Anwar dismissed Muhyiddin accusations that the charges against the latter are politically motivated. Anwar said that he has not interfered in investigations.