Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been ordered by Malaysia's High Court to stand trial in August for his alleged involvement in the embezzlement of hundreds of millions of dollars from a state development fund.
Najib was slapped with 25 charges of money laundering and abuse of power in September over transactions totalling 2.28 billion Malaysian ringgit ($A786 million) from 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad).
The fund is the subject of an sweeping international probe - spanning Singapore, Switzerland, Hong Kong and the United States - over suspicions that billion of dollars in public money was siphoned off from it by high-ranking Malaysian officials, including Najib.
The 25 charges stem from transactions ranging between 49 million ringgit and 2 billion ringgit, which were allegedly transferred as bribes to Najib's personal account between February 2011 and December 2014.
The trial will involve the largest amounts of money allegedly stolen from the investment vehicle, which was set up by Najib during his 2009-18 tenure as prime minister.
Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah rejected appeals by the prosecution to delay the start of the trial, saying it was the third time the request had been lodged.
