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Ex-Malaysia leader Najib Razak has suffered a stunning fall from grace and now faces charges related to the 1MDB graft scandal. The probe is uncovering years of obfuscation by the former regime.

Najib Razak was arrested on Tuesday afternoon in his mansion in an exclusive suburb of Kuala Lumpur. One day later, he was charged with criminal breach of trust and for using his position to enrich himself. He has been released on bail.

It is a dramatic reversal of fortunes for Najib, a 64-year-old career politician and son of a former Malaysian PM. Ten months ago, he was hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House, but in May, he suffered an election defeat at the hands of Mahathir Mohamad. Najib's trial threatens to unravel a carefully maintained long-running system of cover-ups and obfuscation, and will certainly pump new life into the 1MDB probe.

Cash, Handbags, Jewelry

There is no modern precedent in Malaysia's 61-year-old history for trying a high-ranking politician, much less a long-time leader. To his credit, Najib, reportedly paralyzed by the May 9 election result which toppled him, enabled a peaceful transition of power.

Mahathir, the nonagenarian old-new PM, wasted little time swapping out key government and justice officials, paving the way for charges to be levied against Najib. Newly-emboldened investigators culled almost 300 boxes of designer handbags, 114 million Malaysian ringgit ($28.2 million) in cash, and jewelry from raids of a luxury Kuala Lumpur condominium linked to the family of Najib.

Najib, his wife Rosmah Mansor, and her son, film producer Riza Aziz suffered the ignominy of being questioned by MACC, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. The developments lay bare the former regime's campaign to quell the investigation into 1MDB. Even as the U.S. put its full judicial force behind the investigation – Attorney General Jeff Sessions called it «kleptocracy at its worst» – Malaysia didn't engage. 

Emboldened Officials

With Najib gone, officials have come out of the woodwork to describe the former government's attempts to influence witnesses or hush investigators at MACC, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, according to «Reuters».