Malaysia PM Najib mulls legal action against Wall Street Journal

A law firm representing Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Wednesday (Jul 8) that it has been instructed to consider action against the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) if there is evidence of conspiracy against him.

The newspaper reported last week that investigators looking into debt-laden state-owned fund 1MDB had traced nearly $700 million of money that came through a private bank account in Singapore into accounts in Malaysia they believed belonged to the prime minister.

Najib has denied taking any money from 1MDB or any other entity for personal gain. Reuters has not independently verified the WSJ report.

The firm, Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak, said in a statement that since the article involved several parties, they were instructed to consider "joint action, or action against, in the event evidence shows a conspiracy against our client."

"This is not a straightforward legal action due to the national and international imputations. We have been instructed to identify facts and lay full facts, before our client, is able to proceed with further instructions," it said.