Malaysia: The granting of government contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to allegations of abuse of authority and money laundering against Mr. Muhyiddin Yassin, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Mr. Muhyiddin, who oversaw the nation from March 2020 until the worst of the pandemic, entered a not-guilty plea to the six accusations in a Kuala Lumpur court. After Mr. Muhyiddin was questioned by Malaysia’s anti-corruption office for a number of hours over a government support scheme that his government devised to aid building contractors during the coronavirus lockdown, accusations were brought against him.

Four accusations of abuse of power involving 232.5 million ringgit ($51.40 million) and two counts of money laundering totalling 195 million ringgit are brought against the former prime minister. Mr. Muhyiddin has previously referred to the inquiry as politically motivated. In a closely contested election in November 2022, his ethnically Malay-dominated Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition lost to Mr. Anwar Ibrahim’s multiethnic opponent.

After Mr. Najib Razak, who served as prime minister from May 2018 until his coalition, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), lost control of the country for the first time due to public outrage over the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal, he is the second former leader to be charged with corruption. Mr. Najib started serving a 12-year prison term for 1MDB-related offences after Malaysia’s highest court rejected his final appeal. A number of other lawsuits involving alleged malfeasance at the fund are also being brought against him.

Mr. Muhyiddin, who was a longtime UMNO member until resigning in the wake of the 1MDB crisis, may spend up to 15 years in prison for money laundering, up to 20 years for power abuse, and face substantial fines.

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