Malaysia has issued an arrest warrant for Paul Stadlen, a British citizen who worked for former Prime Minister Najib Razak as a media adviser, for money laundering charges, a prosecutor said on 21 February.

Paul Stadlen is charged with money laundering. (Photo: Malaymail.com)

According to prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib, Stadlen is alledged to have laundered 14.3 million MYR (3.5 million USD) in proceeds from illegal activities that had been deposited in the client account of a law firm with links to Najib.

Stadlen is accused of overseeing the transfer of funds from the account to several companies and individuals between June 2014 and August 2015.

The warrant has been sent to Interpol, said the prosecutor.

In response to the charges, Mishcon de Reya, the London-based law firm representing Stadlen, described the charges against him as politically-motivated.

Najib was ousted in a general election on 9 May, 2018 amid widespread public anger over a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal at state fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

In November last year, the anti-corruption investigators issued a notice calling for Stadlen to assist in their 1MDB probe. Media reports say he left Malaysia shortly after Najib’s defeat in the election.

At least six countries are investigating the 1MDB case, a state fund founded by Najib in 2009. Malaysian and US investigators said that some 4.5 billion USD was siphoned from the fund and about 1 billion USD made its way into Najib’s personal bank accounts.

Najib has been hit with 42 criminal charges since the election in 2018, most of which are linked to the 1MDB fund.

(Source: VNA)