[JURIST] Two major opposition parties in Malaysia on Sunday called for an emergency sitting of parliament in order to discuss the future of the country’s prime minister. A police report has also been lodged against Prime Minister Najib Razak [official website] by many opposition members, including representatives [Reuters report] of political parties. The prime minister may face criminal charges stemming from allegations that nearly $700 million of government money were wired from state fund 1MDB [AP report] to personal accounts linked to Razak. A government investigation found that five deposits, with the two largest worth $620 million and $61 million in March 2013, were made into Razak’s accounts. The prime minister is the head of the advisory board for 1MDB, which has nearly $11.6 billion of debt. The state fund 1MDB denies sending funds to the prime minister and Razak says that he never took any money, calling the accusations lies spread by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Najib Razak, who has been prime minister since 2009, has faced allegations of criminal activity in the past. In 2006, Razak was accused [BBC report] of being connected to the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu, after her remains were found in October of that year in Kuala Lumpur. Razak, who was deputy prime minister at the time, denied having any connections to the murder or even knowing the model. A political analyst and associate of Razak’s was charged with aiding [BBC report] the murder, but these charges were later dropped. Two policemen were eventually convicted of the killing, and their sentences were upheld in January