KINIGUIDE | Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's latest date in court yesterday saw the number of charges against him bumped up to 38.

The charges, as of now, can be broken down to cases involving three separate matters - SRC International, 1MDB and the IPIC settlement.

Malaysiakini walks you through the three cases in this edition of KiniGuide.

SRC International

Najib's first set of charges was over the alleged misappropriation of RM42 million from an RM4 billion loan taken by SRC International between August 2011 and January 2012.

He was initially slapped with four charges on July 4, after which these were amended and expanded to seven charges a month later, on Aug 8.

Of the amended charges, three charges of criminal breach of trust and money laundering are for misappropriating state funds in three tranches of RM27 million, RM5 million and RM10 million.

The seventh charge is under the MACC Act for abusing his position as prime minister and finance minister to obtain the RM42 million.

1MDB

The largest set of charges against Najib thus far fall under the 1MDB scandal, with 25 accusations involving 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion donation he said was given to him.

Of the total charges, 21 are on money laundering for receiving, spending and returning the RM2.08 billion donation, as it was valued at the time, from Tanore Finance Corporation.The US Department of Justice claimed that Tanore is owned by Eric Tan Kim Loong, a close associate of alleged 1MDB mastermind Jho Low, who had also used Tan's name as an alias.

The remaining four charges against Najib are for abusing his position to obtain RM2.28 billion overall from 1MDB.

READ MORE: 'Stolen' 1MDB funds: The DOJ lawsuit revisited

IPIC settlement

The latest set of six criminal breach of trust charges against Najib revolve around 1MDB's US$1.2 billion settlement with Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co in April last year.

The first two charges are for mishandling RM1.85 million, which MACC sources said was meant to secure two contractors from China for the East Coast Rail Link and the Suria Strategic Energy Resources pipeline projects, for which Najib's administration later received RM1.26 billion in yuan, the Chinese currency.

The remaining four charges are for mishandling RM4.78 billion - including the RM1.26 billion in yuan - which sources said was used to repay IPIC.

Sources also said that RM1.3 billion of the sum involved was originally allocated for 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) handouts under Budget 2017.

Former Treasury secretary-general Irwan Serigar Abdullah was also charged with Najib.

So, how much money is involved in total?

In total, Najib's various charges involve a total sum of RM8.95 billion.

However, Najib is only accused of having personally benefitted from RM2.32 billion of the sum involved.

What can Najib be punished with?

A criminal breach of trust charge under Section 409 of the Penal Code carries with it a jail term of between two and 20 years, caning and a possible fine, upon conviction.

If convicted, Najib will be spared from being whipped, as the law exempts those above the age of 50 from this punishment, except in cases involving rape. Najib is 65 this year.

The money-laundering charge, punishable under Section 4(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Amla), carries a jail term of up to 15 years upon conviction.

The convicted person is also liable to a fine of not less than five times the value of proceeds gained from the money laundering or RM5 million, whichever is higher.

Finally, for abuse of power, which is punishable under Section 24(1) of the MACC Act, a person convicted will face a prison term not exceeding 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the sum or value of the gratification.

This KiniGuide was prepared by ZIKRI KAMARULZAMAN.