Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak faced questions Tuesday from an anti-graft commission as part of a new probe into a multibillion-dollar scandal involving the country's development fund, 1MDB.
Anti-Corruption Commission chief Mohamad Shukri Abdull said at a news conference that he had summoned Najib for questioning, but that he would not be arrested Tuesday.
Investigators want to know about a $10 million bank transfer from a unit of 1MDB to Najib's bank account. The transaction is a small part of what the U.S. Justice Department alleges is $4.5 billion Najib helped steal from the fund.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing.
The scandal played a role in the defeat of his long-ruling coalition in national elections earlier this month that returned former leader Mahathir Mohamad to power. Mahathir pledged to open a new probe into the 1MDB scandal.
Shukri also said Tuesday that in 2015, during an earlier investigation into the same allegations, he faced "frightening" harassment and that witnesses were abducted.
The Justice Department said in a statement it looks forward to working with Malaysian authorities and is committed to ensuring the U.S. financial system is not threatened by corrupt people who want to hide ill-gotten wealth.
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