Malaysia’s disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak has been granted temporary access to his passport so that he can visit Singapore, where his daughter is giving birth.
The court of appeal gave Najib the green light this morning, days after his wife Rosmah Mansor was given permission for their Singapore trip, local reports said. Their passports were seized in 2018, when the looting of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad investment fund, or 1MDB, led to a slew of charges against the couple, including corruption and money laundering.
Their daughter Nooryana Najwa is expected to give birth to her second child early next month. Najib may arrive by Nov. 3, a day after the member of parliament is scheduled to debate Malaysia’s upcoming budget, and return his passport on Nov. 22, two days after his supposed return.
Najib is appealing his first 1MDB conviction on seven charges for which he was sentenced to 12 years in jail for taking US$10 million from a 1MDB-linked company into his personal bank account. He faces more than 30 other counts and four more trials.
His wife has pleaded not guilty to all of the 19 charges against her. The Birkin bag fan was accused of, among other things, soliciting bribes worth US$48 million to help a company secure a solar power project, a huge portion of which was allegedly given to Najib in the form of political donations.
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