Malaysian opposition leader arrested by anti-graft agency

Malaysian opposition leader and former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was arrested by the country's anti-graft agency on Thursday.

The arrest comes after investigations into alleged abuse of power, breach of trust, and money-laundering involving funds from a family-linked foundation. 

The Anti-Corruption Commission said it issued a notice to Zahid requesting him to be at the anti-graft agency building at 3 pm (0700 GMT) on Thursday. Zahid was arrested 15 minutes after arrival.

Zahid is expected to be charged at a Kuala Lumpur court on Friday morning.

Zahid, who heads the opposition party United Malays National Organisation (UNMO), is the latest prominent figure in Malaysian politics to be arrested following ex-premier Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor.

Zahid was deputy prime minister under Najib, whose government was ousted in elections in May amid widespread anger over a corruption scandal that engulfed the state fund 1MDB.

The 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad) state fund is the subject of a sweeping international investigation by at least six countries - including the United States, Singapore and Switzerland - over alleged money laundering and graft by high-level officials.

The scandal became public in 2015, when the Wall Street Journal reported that Malaysian investigators had traced almost 700 million dollars - at 2015 exchange rates - that had been deposited into Najib's personal bank account via banks, companies and agencies linked to 1MDB.

Zahid has been questioned in the 1MDB scandal as well.