KUALA LAMPUR - The former prime minister of Malaysia has been found guilty of all seven charges in the first of several multi-million dollar corruption trials. Najib Razak pleaded not guilty to the charges of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power. The various charges he is facing carry up to 20 years in prison.

Malaysian English-language newspaper The Star earlier reported that former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak had been found guilty of all seven charges in the graft trial linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund.

Malaysia's former prime minister, Najib Razak, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for crimes linked to the 1MDB scandal, according to a ruling by a Malaysian court.

Earlier, Malaysian English-language newspaper The Star wrote that Najib had been charged with one count of abuse of power, three counts of money laundering, and three counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT). All of them involved money misappropriated from the 1MDB subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd.

Malaysia created the 1MDB fund in 2009 to promote the country's economic growth through direct foreign investment and global partnerships. However, a number of officials, including the ex-prime minister, have since been suspected of embezzling around a total of $4.5 billion from the fund. The 1MDB embezzlement case is being investigated simultaneously in Malaysia, Singapore, the US, Switzerland, and several other countries.

The 1MDB embezzlement scandal was one of the main reasons for the failure of the former prime minister's party, the United Malays National Organisation, in the 2018 general elections.