Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is expected to be charged in court on Wednesday after he was arrested by anti-corruption investigators, officials said.
A taskforce set up to investigate corruption involving Malaysian state fund 1MDB said in a statement that the arrest "was made at his home".
It was the latest in a series of stunning moves by investigators which suggest the legal noose is tightening around Najib, his family and many of his close political and business allies.
Allegations of massive corruption were a major factor behind the shock election loss in May of Najib's long-ruling coalition to a reformist alliance headed by his former mentor Mahathir Mohamad.
Najib and his cronies were accused of plundering billions of dollars from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund to buy everything from US real estate to artworks.
Najib and the fund deny any wrongdoing.
Since the election loss Najib has been banned from leaving the country and has found himself at the center of a widening graft probe.
Shortly after his ouster, a vast trove of valuables seized in raids on properties linked Najib and his family, including cash, jewelry and luxury handbags, are worth up to $273 million.
He and his luxury-loving wife Rosmah Mansor were questioned by investigators.
A special government task force investigating the 1MDB corruption scandal said it froze 408 bank accounts containing a total 1.1 billion ringgit ($272 million) last week.
The task force said Najib was arrested in relation to allegations involving SRC International Sdn Bhd, a company that was created in 2011 by Najib's government to pursue overseas investments in energy resources, and was a unit of 1MDB until it was moved to the finance ministry in 2012.
.jpg?w=600)
